


Revolution

by yookihyunnieX



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Arcades, DDR, M/M, Recreational Drug Use, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-21
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2019-04-26 01:12:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14391054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yookihyunnieX/pseuds/yookihyunnieX
Summary: I saw a tweet @kihyunsnena posted and was inspired. And, of course, knowing me, it had to be changki. (pretend to be shocked, maybe)The tweet was:Kihyun looks like the type to spend hours on the ddr machine at the arcade drinking 7up while trying to beat his hi score.I'm excited to see where the next chapters take me~As always, thanks for reading <3





	1. Watermelon Wonder

**Author's Note:**

> I saw a tweet @kihyunsnena posted and was inspired. And, of course, knowing me, it had to be changki. (pretend to be shocked, maybe)
> 
> The tweet was:  
> Kihyun looks like the type to spend hours on the ddr machine at the arcade drinking 7up while trying to beat his hi score.
> 
> I'm excited to see where the next chapters take me~
> 
> As always, thanks for reading <3

“So, what’s his deal?” 

Changkyun leaned over the ticket counter, the skin of his bare arms resisting against the glass of the display with the low-level prizes. His nametag pressed into his skin through his shirt and he felt the pin come undone. He stood back upright, fidgeting with the tag to secure it back in place, biting his lip in concentration.

“Whose deal?” 

His coworker Hyungwon raised an eyebrow up at him and quickly swiped his hand under the glass to grab a tootsie roll from the green basket. Changkyun had only been working at the Tokens arcade for a week now, but he was pretty sure that wasn’t allowed. Hyungwon didn’t seem to care, though. So, Changkyun leaned in conspiratorially to whisper, “Hey, can I have one too?”

“One what?” Hyungwon asked, smirking as he chewed on the chocolate candy.

Changkyun deadpanned, but knew he wasn’t going to get anywhere with that request. 

“Ugh, nevermind. But tell me more about that guy,” he said, pointing behind him with his head.

“Dude, is your neck okay? I think you just had a bit of a spaz.”

What the hell was _with_ this guy?

“My neck is fine! I’m trying to discreetly point to the guy over there.”

His coworker’s thick lips spread to a wide, Cheshire cat grin.

“Yeah, man, I know. I’m just fuckin’ with you. But the guy’s name is Yoo Kihyun. He comes in every weekend to play DDR.”

Changkyun snuck a glance at the teen at the Dance Dance Revolution machine, his red-pink hair lighting up as he made his next selection. Kihyun’s gaze didn’t move from the screen, but Changkyun snapped his head back to face Hyungwon, just in case.

“Does he come alone? I don’t think I’ve seen anyone go over there.”

“No, he’s got a bud that stays here all day, too. Minhyuk. He hits up the shooting games, but he flirts with Jooheon a lot.”

Changkyun was still learning the names and faces of his co-workers, along with all of the tasks of his new job, so he only vaguely knew who the hell that was. Maybe.

“Who's Jooheon again?”

Hyungwon pointed in the direction of the pizza counter near the entrance.

“He works the pizza register. You should get to know him. Works weekends and some Tuesdays.”

He repeated the name to himself for memorization and nodded, then turned to the area with the shooting games, which was completely void of life, save for a few kids without tokens pretending they were playing.

“Alright, so where's this Minhyuk guy? There's no one over there.”

Hyungwon pursed his lips as he scanned the arcade.

“Ah, there he is. He's hidden by the DDR machine. He must've just walked over there.”

Changkyun turned to look, trying to appear as nonchalant as possible, and saw Minhyuk reach for a cup on the floor. 

“Oh, okay. Yeah, I've seen him before. So, they just come and play their own stuff all day?”

Hyungwon snuck another tootsie roll, tossing one to Changkyun this time.

“Kinda,” he said twisting open the wrapper. “They have a routine. Kihyun plays DDR and Minhyuk hits up the shooting games. The amount of rounds Minhyuk plays varies by game. I don't know how he does it, but it's like a science.”

He popped the chocolate into his mouth and began to chew, leaving the “science” up to question. After he swallowed the chewy chocolatey goodness, he raised his eyebrow at his new lanky, uh, friend.

“What do you mean, science?”

Hyungwon absently threw his two wrappers at the trash can, missing completely, then leaned onto the glass.

“Minhyuk finishes his game and comes to Kihyun. It's always right as he's finishing the first stage of three. He picks up the cup and hands it to Kihyun, who then shakes it and drinks the last drops and hands the cup back to Minhyuk. He takes it over to Jooheon, who gives him a refill of 7-Up. He flirts like crazy and then when he gets back to DDR, Kihyun is taking the last steps of the third song. The timing is perfect every time.”

Changkyun blinked at him in amazement. How the hell did he figure all that out?

“So, what, you just watch them? That's pretty creepy, man.”

Hyungwon just shrugged, unbothered by his statement.

“Yeah, I do. I almost always work the prizes. It gets pretty boring over here. And they've been coming every weekend for months now. Plus they're kinda local legends.” Hyungwon stood back up. “Manager’s making his rounds, better look like you're doing something.”

Changkyun turned and picked up the tootsie roll wrappers Hyungwon had thrown to the ground (honestly, did he even _try_ to make it in?) and deposited them into the trash can. He looked up and waved as their shift manager came by. Since he was still new, his main tasks were keeping the place clean and doing customer service out on the floor. At least until he was trained on the cash register.

“Changkyun,” his manager called, “let's get you shadowing on reg.”

_Ayeeee._

He got settled behind the counter and internally thanked his manager. Well, he thanked him externally for getting him set up to begin his cash register training. But he internally thanked him for being placed where he was. With Jooheon at the pizza counter.

Changkyun was getting trained in all areas so he'd be a jack of all trades, versatile as a new employee. He'd be learning to refill the token and ticket dispensers, how to work the prize counter, the rules of laser tag, how to monitor the mini golf, and work the cash register for the pizza counter.

But it also meant learning more about the workings of the Watermelon Wonder, DDR King Yoo Kihyun and his synchronized 7-Up provider Minhyuk.

Changkyun learned the basics of completing a transaction and thanked Jooheon for running through the different commands. The process was easy enough and today was a bit slow.

He scanned the arcade, wondering when he might be able to witness part of the Dynamic Duo up close. It took him a moment to locate Minhyuk, but he finished up his shooting game and was now en route to Kihyun and his speedy feet. 

As Hyungwon had reported, Minhyuk scooped down to pick up the cup on the ground right as Kihyun finished what Changkyun had to assume was the first stage. Kihyun shook the cup, sipped, and handed it back to Minhyuk with a nod. It was incredible, but also absolutely terrifying. And now Minhyuk was incoming for his next round of flirting with Jooheon.

Changkyun snuck a glance to the prize counter and found Hyungwon staring back at him. His eyes flickered to Minhyuk, and when they settled back to meet Changkyun’s, he raised an eyebrow. The aesthetic was of course enhanced by the lollipop between his lips that Changkyun knew was worth at least 10 tickets that his coworker didn't sacrifice. 

With Minhyuk incoming, Changkyun swore he heard a faint alarm in his head with the sheer awe of the approaching half of the legendary pair. He decided to sit back and watch his interaction with Jooheon unfold, soaking up the conversation like a sponge.

Minhyuk ended up being a lot more bubbly than he expected of a local legend, which caught him off guard in a pleasant way. Maybe breaking through Kihyun's shell wouldn't be as tough as he originally assumed.

He approached the counter with a smile containing the rays of the actual sunshine, which was arguably more blinding than his counterpart’s bright grapefruit-colored hair. Thankfully, his own eyes were saved from some of the light, as the smile was directed towards his coworker. It was a total mystery how Jooheon survived the blinding smile directed to him without sunglasses. Maybe the beams of light hit Jooheon’s dimples and ricocheted to the rest of the room. 

“Hey, Jooheony! Kihyun needs another refill, please.”

His voice was just as bright and cheerful as his smile, and Changkyun thought to himself that this guy would make an excellent lighthouse, bringing people safely to shore with the bright light he produced. But for Jooheon, Minhyuk was more like a siren, luring people in with his song. When he smiled, Jooheon was completely mesmerized. His eyes were wide and he silently nodded at Minhyuk, which was comical for Changkyun after having witnessed some of Jooheon’s playful personality as he trained him. The contrast was stark, and Changkyun had to bite his lip to hold back a smile.

Minhyuk fiddled with the straw dispenser as Jooheon refilled the cup with 7-Up. When he looked back up, his eyes flickered to Changkyun for moment, then settled back on Jooheon.

“Training the new guy, huh?”

“Y-yeah,” Jooheon stuttered. Poor, helpless, lovestruck fool.

“Hi, I’m Changkyun,” he said, saving the cashier from his own damn self. “I started about a week ago.”

“That’s great! Will you be working weekends with Jooheon?”

Even though Minhyuk was talking to him, he felt like it wasn’t really to _him_. He was friendly, but only seemed interested in the conversation in its relation to Jooheon. Changkyun decided he’d play along.

“Yeah, he just taught me the basics of the cash register. I’m hoping he and I can work together more.”

Minhyuk nodded to him and and took the cup back from Jooheon. Their fingers touched on the cup and Changkyun already knew enough about Minhyuk to know it was intentional, and he of course lingered, smiling at the cashier. 

“I bet you’re the best teacher. They should promote you if you’re training newbies.” Minhyuk replaced the lid on the cup and looked back at Jooheon.

“Ah, thanks,” Jooheon managed.

“Hey, are you thirsty? I bet it’s hot working back there so close to the kitchen. I’ll buy you a drink!”

Without waiting for an answer, Minhyuk pulled out his wallet and passed the bill to Jooheon. He nodded down to the cup in his hand.

“I should get this back to Kihyun. Keep the change.” 

He winked at Jooheon and walked away, providing the 7-Up to Kihyun as his last song ended, just as Hyungwon had said. Changkyun blinked, taking it in for a moment, then turned to Jooheon, who was now happily sipping on his drink.

“That was so nice, I’m thirsty as hell.”

“Yeah you are.” 

Changkyun chuckled to himself for the well-timed joke, but Jooheon seemed oblivious to it. 

“Does he usually wink at you? And buy you drinks?”

Jooheon slightly choked on his drink. “He winked at me?”

_……what?_

“Dude, yeah. Right before he left.”

“Oh, oh my god. Oh my god? I had no idea. Did he really?”

This guy...

“Jooheon. Yes. He winked at you. Are you blind?”

“No, I just… Usually I’m trying to just get by having a conversation with him and not looking like an idiot. I have a huge crush on him, but I don’t think he likes me. And he also has this uneven blink? It’s adorable, but I just assumed he was blinking. I can’t believe he winked at me!”

Yeah, this guy was more hopeless than he thought.

“Don’t worry, he likes you. He was totally flirting with you. It would help if you flirted back, but I don’t think it’d take much.”

Changkyun watched as the gears in Jooheon’s mind began to grease themselves and start turning, but he was too impatient for his coworker (friend?) to catch up. He had a mission of his own with one bright-haired boy in mind.

“How long do Minhyuk and Kihyun stay here?”

“Uh, most of the day Saturday. They sometimes come Friday night or mid-Sunday, but Saturday is when they shoot and dance. The other times, they just mess around on whatever games or do laser tag.”

So the solo dance streak was a Saturday event. Or was it solo?

“Does anyone else play DDR or does he hog it all day?”

Jooheon let out a laugh and his dimples returned. Changkyun wasn’t positive, but he thought he saw Minhyuk glance in their direction as he put his tokens in the machine for his next round. 

“He’s on it all day, but sometimes other people play. Most aren’t very good, but one guy gets pretty decent scores. Kwon Soonyoung. He’s the only other one with his initials in the high scores.”

Changkyun was amazed how much his coworkers had picked up of Kihyun’s routines, but it was coming in handy. There was something intriguing about this guy, coming in with his 7-Up Sidekick and dancing for hours on end to achieve a new high score, with a solitary competitor worthy of challenging the Watermelon Wonder. He had learned a lot, but still craved to know more.

“Does he ever actually dance with this Soonyoung guy? Because there’s a way to go between the two dance pads, isn’t there?”

Changkyun grabbed himself a straw and reached for Jooheon’s cup, which he surrendered easily, considering this was their first real conversation together. But there seemed to be a mutual understanding that they were already at That Level. Changkyun stabbed his straw through the lid and took a long sip as Jooheon replied. It really _was_ hot back there.

“No, Kihyun is too technical. He goes for the high levels and leans onto the bar for fast footwork. Soonyoung does freestyle, so he nails all the steps on slightly lower levels and adds his own moves as he goes.” He gestured to get his cup back, and Changkyun took another gulp before passing it over. “It’s kind of funny to watch. They both kill it in their own way, it’s just really different.”

As Jooheon matter-of-factly took a sip, Changkyun turned to face the DDR machine and recognized the tech style his coworker had explained and wondered if there was any way in hell he’d ever be at that speed. Probably not.

\--

Dinner came around and the demand for pizza picked up. Changkyun still could only observe Jooheon on the cash register, rather than open up the other one to work it himself, but he was able to help by providing extra dipping sauces to their customers and getting refills. Jooheon was in the middle of taking a particularly difficult order for a party with multiple food allergies when Minhyuk approached the counter.

“Hi, you need a refill?”

Minhyuk's gaze lingered on Jooheon for a beat before he turned to face Changkyun with a smile. Not as blinding as his smiles for Jooheon, but still bright.

“Yeah, 7-Up please!”

“You got it!” Changkyun took the cup and moved over to the soda fountain. Minhyuk had turned to look at Jooheon again, but Changkyun knew he might not get many opportunities to talk to the guy, so he broke him from his reverie, clearing his throat.

“So... Minhyuk?” The dirty blonde turned to face him, smiling expectantly. He didn’t exactly have a conversation planned out, though. “Do you, uh, ever play DDR with your friend?”

_There ya go, bud. Keepin’ it nice and casual like you maybe don’t remember his name._

“Nah, not anymore. Kihyun got too good. I used to play, and I guess I was decent. But he got really competitive and I tried out the shooting games and that’s been my thing ever since. I’m the top scores on all of them!”

His proud and cheery smile made up for the lack of humility.

He used to play DDR, though, and Changkyun latched on to that fact. This could be his in. He threw all reservation to the window.

“Will you teach me? To play DDR?” Minhyuk’s happy expression faded and was replaced with a curious tilt of his head, eyes narrowing to read him. Changkyun hoped he wasn’t a quick read, but just in case… “I’ve always wanted to be good at it, I just haven’t really gotten to play much.”

Minhyuk had something in his expression that told Changkyun he didn’t quite believe him, but he played along anyway. “Yeah, I can teach you. I get out of class early on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Do you work then? Or have class?”

Changkyun was maybe smiling a bit too big for being told he would be learning how to play Dance Dance Revolution from an arcade regular, college kid. But, hey, Zombieland taught him to enjoy the little things if nothing else. Well, and Double Tap, but how often was that helpful in real life?

“I don’t! Are you out by three? We can dance for awhile and get pizza after? I’ll pay and,” Changkyun gestured Minhyuk to lean closer, “I heard Jooheon works Tuesdays. Maybe I can talk him into taking his break when we eat.”

Minhyuk’s wide smile returned and he nodded, reaching to take the cup back. 

“Deal. Meet me at the mats Tuesday at three.”

Changkyun smiled to himself as Minhyuk returned Kihyun’s cup to him. He glanced over to Hyungwon, who was shaking his head and his grin was like the return of the Cheshire cat. Changkyun had already determined that Hyungwon was some kind of mind reader, masked in his lazy persona, and he had clearly already uncovered something Changkyun had been hesitant to admit himself.

He wasn’t sure why he was so fascinated with the local legend and Dancing King of DDR. Maybe it was the way he leaned back onto the bar, feet rapidly moving on the mat, focusing on nothing but the moving ascending arrows. Maybe it was his bright hair contrasting with the dim lights of the arcade, with a tuft standing up as the air blew on him, doing a dance of its own. Changkyun felt entirely captivated by the Watermelon Wonder and he wanted to know more about him: why he was so addicted to this game and keeping the high score, how he and Minhyuk became friends, what he did on weekdays...Changkyun would take whatever he could get. 

When Tuesday came, Changkyun arrived to Tokens in sweatpants and a t-shirt, water bottle in hand, ready to dance his pants off. Literally, though, he had shorts underneath and would take off his pants if need be. 

Minhyuk was waiting for him at the DDR machine, as expected. 

“Hey man, thanks for agreeing to do this.” He smiled at the dirty blonde gratefully.

“Don’t worry about it! I don’t play anymore, but I kinda miss it. Plus I’ll be getting pizza and time with Jooheon, so it’s an all around win.”

Changkyun shook his head as he set down his water bottle. “You know he has, like, no idea you like him, right?”

“Yeah,” Minhyuk sighed, “and it’s fuckin painful. How much more obvious can I be?”

“That's where I'll come in. We'll do pizza and when I work I can try to help you out from behind the counter.”

“I appreciate it, but he never says anything to me and I flirt with him multiple times a day.”

Changkyun thought back to the almost painful interaction he witnessed.

“Honestly, I think he's just frozen in fear.”

“What do you mean?”

“I'm pretty sure he likes you. He's just shy when it comes to that. I mean, I just met the guy, but he definitely likes you. I think he just doesn’t recognize flirting, and he freezes up around you.”

Minhyuk took a deep sigh. “So what do I do about it?”

“Like I said, that’ll be my contribution. For you helping me, I mean. In return, I’ll help you out with Jooheon as much as I can.”

Minhyuk smiled genuinely at his offer. “Deal.” He put tokens into the machine and began making selections. “I’ll help you with Kihyun too. I know that’s why you want to learn DDR.”

Changkyun thought we was maybe at least a little less obvious than that. Apparently not.

He scratched behind his ear and laughed nervously, still in a bit of denial. “What do you say that?”

“I figured it out the day you asked me to teach you. I looked at Jooheon enough to see you looking at Kihyun just as much.”

Exposed.

“No, I…” _I guess there’s no point in hiding it._ “Okay, yeah. I don’t know what it is about him, but I want to get to know him. “

Minhyuk nodded and had Changkyun select Basic because apparently “Playing on Beginner is just insulting. Let’s see how you do on Basic.” He proceeded to select “M.A.Y.U.” for the first stage and settled his hands behind him on the bar. Changkyun followed his lead and leaned back onto the cool metal bar.

As the stage began, Minhyuk spoke over the music. “You could just talk to him, you know. You don’t have to learn how to play.”

“Yeah,” Changkyun began with a sigh. “But he seems a little out of my league-- _shit_ \--and I want to try this.” He had made a Miss among a handful of Good and Great scores.

“Out of your league?” he laughed, while getting perfect and marvelous scores. “The guy plays DDR all day every Saturday. He’s nothing special. He’s my friend, but the guy’s a fuckin’ nerd. Bit of a prick sometimes, too.”

“He’s, like, a local legend. So are you. People know your routine.” This time when he spoke he was able to maintain Great scores, even managing a few Perfects. “He’s the Watermelon Wonder and you’re the 7-Up Sharpshooter Sidekick.”

“Do people really call us that?” 

“I think it’s just me, honestly. But Hyungwon has your routine down.” He wasn’t sure why he was telling Minhyuk all of this, but he seemed trustworthy. Comfortable.

“The prize guy who eats a bunch of tootsie rolls?”

Changkyun turned to face him for a moment, causing his scores to go back down to Greats and Goods. Minhyuk was in the middle of a combo.

“Don’t be so shocked,” he laughed. “When you’re here as much as I am, you pick up that stuff. Knowing routines isn’t all that impressive.”

“Okay, but it’s still cool. How do you do it anyway?”

“Not bad,” he said, nodding at the screen. The song ended and Minhyuk stepped forward to select the next stage. “I’ve known Kiki forever and we come here all the time, so I’ve learned how long it takes him to down his drink. Plus I have great hearing, so I just listen for the music.”

That wasn’t nearly as exciting as Hyungwon made it out to be.

Minhyuk selected PARANOiA (kskst remix) and started bouncing to the beat, preparing for the arrows to appear.

“Are you sure there’s nothing supernatural going on?”

“Positive! We’re just freaks.”

Changkyun laughed and leaned further back into the bar, giving his feet a bit faster steps. He was able to get better scores from it, getting more ratings of Perfect and even a few Marvelous.

When the stage ended Changkyun turned to Minhyuk, beaming.

“Good job, kid! Think you can do it again?”

He nodded enthusiastically and stepped forward to select a song himself.

“This one okay?” he asked over his shoulder.

“Yeah, I like WH1TE RO5E!”

“Sweet,” he said, hitting the button to select it.

He felt more confident with the game already and his scores on this stage reflected that.

“I know you’re only on Basic, but you’re doing extremely well for not playing much. Maybe you’re a freak, too.”

Changkyun laughed as his combo continued. Minhyuk was right. He kind of _was_ a freak. He was learning DDR because some random guy in the arcade with bright reddish-pink hair, provided with gallons of 7-Up by his soft drink dealer Minhyuk, had caught his attention. From the corner of his eye, he saw Hyungwon walk by to the break room, shaking his head at him with a smirk. But his own smile widened and the combo went on, and Changkyun thought of the Watermelon Wonder, dancing near perfect scores. And if Kihyun was considered a freak, then he just might be okay with being one too.


	2. 7-Up Sidekick

Minhyuk hadn't really considered himself to be a local legend, but he also assumed most local legends weren't exactly aware of their status. Now that he _was_ , he didn't really feel like much had changed. He stuck to the same routines (and was maybe a little more aware of the lurking ticket counter) and so did Kihyun. Not that he had _told_ his friend that he was being referred to as the Watermelon Wonder by some guy crushing so hard he felt the need to become a DDR Master himself. 

It was kind of weird to think about, really. Minhyuk wasn't sure why anyone would want to be close to Kihyun. Honestly, he didn't know why _he_ was close to him. They were childhood friends. The kind that start as neighbors and your parents make you become friends because its convenient. Then, after a while, it doesn't feel so forced and you're just always with one another with absolutely no reason to be, other than the simple fact that you always have been. 

Minhyuk supposed that Kihyun possessed _some_ redeeming qualities. Things that would, sometimes, make him fun to be around. Reasons Minhyuk still considered him his ride or die best friend, because he was more than just a body to be around.

It had always been just the two of them. It wasn't like they hadn't tried to be friends with other people. It just….didn't work out for one reason or another. Sometimes it was something Kihyun nagged about. Sometimes it was Minhyuk being apparently overly excited about something. Sometimes the two of them came off too exclusively. But with this Changkyun kid, Minhyuk really thought that might change. And change wasn't always a bad thing.

Besides, the guy was paying him with weekly pizza and valuable flirting time with Jooheon. Can't say no to that.

It had been a three whole weeks and Jooheon was having normal conversations with him! Which had only occurred with the support of Changkyun there to bridge the awkward gap between Minhyuk's obvious flirting and Jooheon's shell-shocked pauses... But still! Progress!

And Minhyuk really was starting to believe that Jooheon was frozen and a bit jumpy because he actually liked him (another thing he could thank Changkyun for), which was why he was determined to help him out with his Kihyun Conquest. He had to make it even.

Now he was just waiting for the day that Changkyun would make his move. Through their six sessions together, he'd gotten pretty good at DDR. He had a method of his own that was a mix between technical and stylish, going for decently high levels and scoring well, while still throwing in a bit of his own flair. Not enough as Kihyun's apparent “Arch Rival” Soonyoung, but enough to make him more entertaining to watch than Kihyun's purely point-driven technique. 

Kihyun hadn't always been that way: a robot strategically leaning on the railing and stepping his feet to hit the most arrows and get combos and marvelous scores. He used to be a lot more fun, and a lot less competitive, really. And Minhyuk wasn't sure what it was about Changkyun, but he felt like he might just be the way to bring back the more fun side of Kihyun. At least, he hoped so.

Minhyuk opened the door of his dorm room to find Kihyun hunched over his desk, books sprawled on either side of his laptop and in his lap as he typed furiously, biting his lower lip in concentration. He knew not to disturb Kihyun as he worked; he strived to do everything quickly and efficiently, and he was damn good at it. His typing speed was incredible, he read at lightning pace, and he was one to get an assignment done weeks in advance just to get it done fast and well. More time for more important things that way. Like DDR, apparently.

“And…” Kihyun slammed the book next to his laptop shut before throwing it onto his bed triumphantly. “Done! I'll eat, then edit and submit. Did you have dinner after tutoring?”

That's what Minhyuk had _said_ he'd been doing for the past month. He wanted the big reveal to come purely from Changkyun himself.

“Nope, not on Thursdays! What do you have in mind?”

“I'm kinda feeling pizza. Something about typing up the history and development of social organization makes me crave cheese and sausage.”

Minhyuk didn't even hide his groan. He'd had enough pizza the past few weeks between his DDR sessions and campus events to satisfy any college guy. If that was even possible. (It was).

“Or maybe we walk to the cafeteria and _you_ can have pizza.” Kihyun was already rolling his eyes at this. The cafeteria pizza was alright, but left something to be desired. “I think it's nugget day and I heard they have sweet potato fries.”

Kihyun quickly shuffled to move the book from his lap and head to the door.

“Game changer! Let's go to the cafeteria. You can get our nugs and I'll get in the line for fries.”

“You know I brotonically love you, right?” Minhyuk said, smiling.

Kihyun laughed as he held the door open for Minhyuk to walk through.

“Awh, bro,” Kihyun said, dramatically placing a hand over his heart. “Don't make me blush.”

\--

Once ample nuggets and fries had been obtained, they met at their usual table. Kihyun was a man of consistency and this had been their table the past three semesters. Minhyuk couldn’t care less, but he was used to his friend’s peculiarities. It was a corner table, set so they could people watch if they wanted to. They always wanted to.

A few tables over, along the back wall, a majority of the lacrosse team were claiming their seats. Two of the guys, Wonho and Shownu, were approaching the table, one plate in each hand.

“Hey, you're covering for Shownu's shift tonight, right?”

Kihyun dipped a handful of sweet potato fries into his ranch and nodded. “Yeah, they have a tournament this weekend and they're leaving early tomorrow morning. He has to pack and get his assignments in, so I'm going in 7:30 to midnight.”

“Ew,” Minhyuk said, scrunching his nose.

“Yeah, ew,” Kihyun sighed. “That's the main reason I wanted to get that essay done.”

Minhyuk reached for a chicken nugget with a raised eyebrow.

“Isn't that paper for a midterm?”

“Yup, for Social Organization.”

“Kihyun, midterms aren't for another two weeks.”

“But we were given the rubric on Tuesday,” Kihyun said pointedly.

The fact that Kihyun said it so seriously was almost worrisome. 

“Your professors must love you.”

“They do,” Kihyun replied, smirking, cockily tossing back another fry.

Minhyuk shook his head at him. He wasn't surprised in the least. With a perfectionist like Kihyun, who got things done weeks in advance, you really couldn't ask for a better student in your class. It didn't mean his classmates liked him, though. 

He was almost aggressive about sitting in the same seat in the front row and clicked his pen like a crazy person between taking notes. He dominated group projects because he didn't trust anyone to be competent enough to do it well, and he was That Person who asked the professor excessive questions and kept them from leaving. After taking World History together freshman year, Minhyuk promised himself he'd never be in a class with Kihyun again. Thank god they chose different majors.

“Alright, let's figure out the game plan for tonight and the weekend. You have a test tomorrow, right?”

Kihyun nodded as he nibbled on his chicken nugget. 

“And you're probably already done studying?”

Another nod. Figures.

“Lit. So submit your midterm before your shift at the library, go be a librarian or whatever and work on any other assignments and we'll go to the arcade tomorrow.”

Kihyun swallowed and grinned as he reached for his water. 

“One, I had every intention of submitting it before my shift. Two, that's my last assignment until I get my next rubric or exam study guide. And three, I'm definitely down for Tokens tomorrow. You ready?” he asked, nodding to their plates.

“Yeah,” Minhyuk said, standing up.

“So what's your plan tonight? Or do you wanna come to work with me while I remind people that study rooms are for three people max and printing in color has to be approved in advance?”

“Mmm, as fun as that sounds, I think I'll pass. I have to write a reaction to a TED Talk on art therapy and tie it to a medium of my choosing. But I also have to actually watch said TED Talk.”

“Let me guess,” Kihyun started, depositing his plate onto the conveyor belt for cleaning, “it's due tomorrow?”

“8 am!” he replied cheerfully. Did he notice the slight trace of judgment in Kihyun's voice? Absolutely. Did he give a shit? Absolutely not.

“I hope that's all that's due tomorrow. What about Monday?”

“Eh,” Minhyuk shrugged, unbothered. “I'll worry about that Sunday.”

“Of course you will.”

They began their trek back to their dorm in comfortable silence. When they rounded the corner to Residence Row, Kihyun spoke again.

“So, uh. There's a new guy that works at Tokens. He's kinda cute.”

Minhyuk did his very absolute best to not choke on his own saliva.

“Oh, really?” he replied, nice and casually.

“Yeah, you've probably seen him. I don't know his name. But he's been there the past few weeks. About our age, maybe a bit younger. Black hair and a big nose, but, like, in a good way? Sometimes he's there with Jooheon when you go for my refills.”

“Ah, yeah. I've seen him. So Kiki has a crush on the new guy?”

Kihyun hit him on the shoulder, which he really only kind of deserved.

“Ugh, I thought that nickname died back in middle school.”

“You wish,” he laughed. “No, so tell me about this guy, you gonna talk to him?”

“Definitely not.”

_Well, okay._

“Excellent plan, my friend. Lure him in by paying him no attention, saying nothing, and breaking your next high score.”

Honestly, that wasn't too far off. But Kihyun didn't need to know that.

“Whatever,” Kihyun grumbled. “Maybe I'll say something eventually.”

“Oooh! Eventually! Sounds pretty promising.”

“Minhyuk, I know what you're trying to do and it's not going to work.”

\--

It worked.

Minhyuk had sat through the TED talk and pulled his reaction paper out of his ass, just like any other procrastinating college student, then crashed before Kihyun even returned from the library, because 8 am classes were infamous soul drainers. Thankfully, his morning classes passed quickly and he was ready to head to the arcade after a late, caffeinated lunch.

Fridays meant that Kihyun wouldn't be glued to the DDR machine the entire time, and when they got to Tokens and stocked up their play cards (ironic, considering the place was _called_ Tokens, but they didn't use them) Minhyuk dragged his friend over to the basketball trampolines. 

“I was hoping you'd choose this,” Kihyun grinned, stepping on the heels of his shoes to toe them off. “I'm gonna kick your ass.”

“As if!” Minhyuk shouted as he launched himself forward through the net to crawl onto the trampoline. “Your shooting is only good for layups and you know it!”

Kihyun grumbled something indistinguishable as he crawled onto his half of the trampoline and Minhyuk let out a sharp laugh. Kihyun was competitive as hell and Minhyuk took pride in his ability to push his buttons. So when the buzzer ran out and Minhyuk sank in one more basket, it was all worth it. Kihyun was annihilated.

They crawled out of the netted in trampoline, and when Minhyuk stood upright, he was face to face with Hyungwon. The lanky motherfucker surfaced out of nowhere ( _the dark pit of hell, maybe?_ ) and Minhyuk swore he was the true Slenderman. The worker stood there with a nearly blank expression, with a little bit of death in his eyes, which was probably from dealing with a bunch of crazy kids in the arcade, but still. It was kinda creepy. 

Minhyuk felt his eyes bulge out of his skull like that last bit of toothpaste he squeezed out of the tube that morning, and a small smile came on Hyungwon's face. It was, perhaps, supposed to be reassuring, but it was, in fact, terrifying. Minhyuk wasn't about to break eye contact with the guy, but thought, _Where the hell is Kihyun? Am I about to get shanked in this arcade?_

“Thanks for playing, guys.”

He speaks.

“Yeah, thanks!” Kihyun emerged, saving Minhyuk's actual life. He had put his shoes on and joined them. No shanking today, folks. “Min, let's play skee-ball. It's my turn to win.”

Kihyun placed his shoes in his hand and began walking towards the skee-ball. 

“He's here,” Hyungwon whispered and stuck out his hand, closed in a fist.

_What fresh hell is going on?_

Hyungwon seemed to read the mix of confusion and fear, though seemingly taking quite a while to do so. 

“Changkyun. He just got here. You're trying to set them up, right?”

_Ohhhh._

Minhyuk nodded and glanced around the arcade.

“Dude, open your hand,” Hyungwon said slowly, “I have something for you.”

Minhyuk followed his order and offered his palm, in which Hyungwon deposited two gummy cubes. That explained it.

“Dude, how high are you?” Minhyuk asked, snickering.

Hyungwon's grin widened. “As a kite.”

“And here you are, presenting me with marijuana gummies and helping me set Kihyun up with Changkyun.” Minhyuk closed his fingers around the gummies, shaking his head. “Honest to god, I was scared shitless by your lanky ass a minute ago, but you're alright.”

“Oh!” Hyungwon began digging through his pockets and pulled out two Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. “Give these to Jooheon. They're his favorite.”

Minhyuk’s jaw dropped to the floor and at least nine stories further.

“Bro, why the hell are we not friends?”

“We are now, Sharpshooter,” Hyungwon said smugly.

Then, he turned and walked away, just like that.

Minhyuk forced his feet into his shoes and speed walked over to Kihyun (because running was against the rules and he wasn't gonna mess with that at this crucial time).

“Kihyun,” he whispered, conspiratorially, “come to the bathroom with me.”

His friend raised an eyebrow at him. “Need me to hold your hand while you pee?”

“Kihyun, you asshole, just come on!”

Kihyun huffed, but followed him anyway. He had always been too curious to ignore Minhyuk's antics, but that never stopped him from at least protesting a little. Once in the bathroom, Kihyun looked at him with a mixture of annoyance and expectation, with his eyebrows raised and arms crossed. Classic Kiki.

“You know the prize guy, Hyungwon?”

“Yeah. What about him?”

Minhyuk opened his fist, revealing the gummies with a sly grin.

“He just gave us the best prize yet.”

Kihyun blinked and pointed. “Is that…?”

“Yup! You in?”

“Is that a question?” Kihyun asked, reaching for the purple cube and tossing it in his mouth. “Of course I'm in.”

“Hell yeah,” Minhyuk said, triumphantly taking the green cube to his own mouth.

A few rounds of skee-ball later and they were both Feelin It Mr. Krabs. One of Kihyun's balls rolled back down the lane to him and he broke into a fit of giggles like it was the funniest thing he'd ever seen. That's how Minhyuk knew it was time.

“I'm thirsty. Come with me. Changkyun's working.”

Kihyun looked appalled.

“The new guy? I can't talk to him like this!” Kihyun gestured to himself with a wide, sweeping, all-encompassing esque gesture.

Minhyuk rolled his eyes and grabbed his arm, pulling him towards the front.

“This is exactly why you _can_ and _should_ talk to him.”

When they reached the counter, and Changkyun raised his head to see Kihyun standing in front of him, Minhyuk could see a flicker of panic in the cashier’s eyes. Poor kid probably could have used a warning before coming face to face with the object of his DDR commitment, but this made it more entertaining for Minhyuk.

“H-hi,” Changkyun said, before clearing his throat, customer care voice firmly in place. “How can I help you?”

As he spoke, Kihyun visibly took a hard swallow. He had a weak spot for deep voices like Changkyun's.

“I'm, uh…”

“Thirsty!” Minhyuk added, helpfully. “Could we get two large drinks?”

“Sure!” Changkyun fumbled a bit with the cups, but Minhyuk noticed how Kihyun bit his lip. He was getting hooked, and…

“Here's your 7-Up!”

Hook, line, sinker.

Kihyun slowly reached for the cup, eyes wide like he was about the receive the most sacred of all carbonated drinks. Their fingers connected and Kihyun blinked up at Changkyun.

Time always went slowly for Minhyuk when he was high, but he knew this was an abnormally long pause. Changkyun looked like he had forgotten how to breathe and Kihyun looked at him, eyes sparkling and a small grin on his face. 

“You know my drink!”

Changkyun let out the breath he had clearly been holding and nodded. “Yeah, I do!”

These fucknuts were acting like this was a sign from above that they were meant to be together. The Carbonated Drinks Soulmate AU we’ve all been waiting for. Still, this was the progress Minhyuk had hoped for. The _least_ he’d hoped for. He gave Kihyun a nudge and whispered for him to ask for his number.

Kihyun nodded, still holding his cup with Changkyun’s help which was completely unecessary but utterly _adorable_ , and grabbed his phone from his pocket.

“Here, trade me.” Kihyun pulled the drink from Changkyun's hand and replaced it with his phone.

Kihyun just needed a little encouragement, but he could be smooth. Kihyun was a rocky, dust road and Minhyuk was the subtle bulldozer he needed. Changkyun stared at Kihyun's phone in his hand until Kihyun spoke up again. 

“Put in your number,” Kihyun said, probably slower than intended. “We should talk.” 

When Changkyun smiled and began tapping at the screen, Minhyuk felt satisfied. His job was done. At least for now. 

Time to find Jooheon.

Minhyuk scanned the area and located Jooheon, watching as he placed two large pizzas on a long table for some kid’s birthday party. He had a handful of balloons tied to a big plastic ring around his arm, and he crouched to speak with the birthday girl.

Jooheon’s smile was relaxed and bright as he spoke with her, letting her choose which color balloon she wanted. Jooheon reached for the scissors in his back pocket (probably not the best place to keep them, really) and began adjusting the ring of balloons to securely hold onto the string of the yellow one. Minhyuk knew he could do it on his own, but saw this as an opportunity to get closer to Jooheon, so he approached the table with a smile.

“Happy birthday, sweetie! Nice choice with the yellow balloon,” Minhyuk said cheerfully. Jooheon looked up at him, slightly startled at his sudden presence, but turned back to the girl with a smile when she spoke again.

“Yellow is my favorite color!”

“Yellow is a great color!” Minhyuk beamed and reached to hold onto the balloon’s string so Jooheon could cut it free without it drifting away towards the ceiling. Jooheon smiled at him as he moved to cut the string, and Minhyuk swore he felt his soul ascend seven dimensions. 

They made their way around the table, giving each child their chosen color of balloon. Minhyuk thanked his body and the cannabis for working together to slow down time and allow him to enjoy every second of Jooheon sweetly interacting with this table of kids. He'd have to remember to thank Hyungwon, too. 

Jooheon was quite literally _glowing_ as he spoke to each child, like a bright little firefly, taking his time to make them all have their moment with him and feel special as they got their balloons. He spoke sweetly with them, in a way Minhyuk hadn't seen before, and a voice in his head reminded Minhyuk that, no, he couldn't ask Jooheon to marry him if they hadn't even been on a date yet. They would definitely have to fix that.

Jooheon finished up with the birthday table and motioned for Minhyuk to follow him back to the counter. As they walked, Minhyuk saw Hyungwon smiling at him like goddamn Jack Skellington, but he was suddenly reminded of the actual candy in his pocket.

“Jooheon!” he called.

He stopped in his tracks and turned to face Minhyuk, and Minhyuk acted quickly in hopes to limit any moments of doubt on either end. He plunged his hand into his pocket and produced the Reese's Cups and offered them to his crush, along with the best line he could think of in that moment.

“If you went on a date with me, that would be pretty… _sweet_.”

Jooheon laughed and it was the sound of the angels in the heavens, Minhyuk was sure of it. He reached to take the candy from Minhyuk and smiled. 

“Yeah, that _would_ be pretty sweet.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much to @shitty4eyes for being my beta/editor this time around :) a True Bro.


	3. Candy Bandit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this chapter took so long! I don't have a legitimate excuse, so I won't try to make one, but thank you for waiting~
> 
> There will be two more chapters :)
> 
> As always, thanks for reading<3

If Hyungwon could stay in his bed all day, he absolutely, without a doubt, would do  _ exactly  _ that _. _ His bed would be his favorite place to be until the end of time, and parting with it brought such sweet sorrow, especially when it meant going to work. It only took eight alarms that morning - an impressive feat for someone who usually made it to double digits - until he quite literally  _ crawled _ out of bed. 

It was the weekend, which meant he had to work, which meant that it wasn't much of a weekend after all. Not  _ really.  _ But he was used to it at this point, he supposed.

He pulled his polo, name tag still attached, out of the dryer and over his head. Hyungwon was thankful that this job didn't require much from him except his time. He could show up wearing his most faded black jeans and Converse. He could take candy from the prize bins. And, occasionally, he would show up high. Okay,  _ usually. _

But there were no issues as long as he showed up, counted tickets, and gave prizes out in the appropriate tiers. Granted, his parent's friends owned the place, which meant he was probably getting special treatment, but that wasn't anything he wasn't used to. 

Hyungwon grabbed his keys and, after a minor internal debate, a blunt.  _ Better to have it than not _ , he figured. 

He pulled into the parking lot of Tokens and parked near the front of the lot because he really didn't give a fuck. It's not like one car made  _ that _ much of a difference anyway. Hyungwon walked inside and made his way back to the break room to clock in. Jooheon was finishing signing himself in when Hyungwon entered.

“Hey, Hyungwon. I just got clocked in. Here,” Jooheon said, moving from the computer.

“You're here early, aren't you?” Hyungwon asked, sliding into the seat to clock in. They had some flexibility in their shifts but their hours were usually fairly consistent. 

“Yeah, I asked to come in a bit early today. I'm going to a movie with Minhyuk later.”

“Oh, you guys are dating now right?”

Jooheon looked down at him, confused. “No, we're just going on dates.”

“So you're dating,” Hyungwon replied matter-of-factly.

“No,” Jooheon countered, “there's a difference. We're not  _ dating _ , we just go on dates together.”

“So...you're dating.”

Jooheon surrendered with a sigh. “Sure.”

If that didn’t count as dating, Hyungwon wasn’t sure what did. 

“Hey,” Jooheon said, stopping at the door of the break room, “I know it’s you who gives Minhyuk all those Reese’s. Do you take them from the prize bins?”

Hyungwon smirked back at him. “Come on, man. I’d never do that.” 

Jooheon shook his head and laughed. “Alright, well, thanks for Not Stealing Candy on my behalf. I owe you.”

With that, Jooheon left the break room and Hyungwon smiled to himself as he stood from the computer. Hyungwon wasn’t a love guru of any sort, but playing matchmaker made his shifts a bit more interesting. Truthfully, he didn’t have much better to do.

As he took his place behind the prize counter, he made eye contact with Minhyuk, who gave him a nod. He’d come to chat with Hyungwon for segments of his shifts at the arcade the past two weeks. They weren’t what Hyungwon would consider  _ friends _ , but Minhyuk was an okay guy and their conversations made time pass a little quicker. 

He scanned the arcade, getting an idea of what his shift might bring. Minhyuk had started another shooting game, meaning… _ yup, _ Kihyun was consumed in what Hyungwon could only assume to be a combo. Jooheon had tied on his apron and settled himself behind the counter to log in to the cash register. Changkyun had arrived yet, but Hyungwon knew he would soon, as their hours always overlapped. It looked like it would be a fairly normal Saturday. There were no birthday parties yet and no sports teams. The only machine that appeared to be out of order was Spider Stompin’, which had been busted for about a month now. It was pretty run-of-the-mill type stuff.

Hyungwon predicted that Kihyun had about four more stages until Minhyuk would make his way over to grab his cup for a refill. He guessed that, after the second refill, Minhyuk would come over to the prize counter to chat, probably asking for a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup - a request Hyungwon would deny aloud while snaking his hand under the glass nonetheless. He assumed that Changkyun would barely miss Minhyuk, clocking in while Minhyuk flirted with Jooheon, offering the candy. He knew Changkyun would smile as he watched Kihyun dance, then deny he ever did, and that Changkyun would sneak a few texts back and forth between Kihyun’s stages, hiding his phone as if anyone even really gave a shit that he had it out. Then, Hyungwon would have his break and go out to his car for his blunt, which he decided he  _ definitely _ would be smoking today. At the moment, he didn’t really care what happened after that.

He pulled the stool out of the utility closet and settled himself in front of the fluffy hats that went for 700 tickets. 

_ Time to count down the hours until I can leave. _

Two kids rushed up to the counter, arms full of bundles of tickets. They, of course, had passed the ticket counting machine and deposited approximately 746 tickets onto the glass window for Hyungwon to deal with. 

“Is this enough for a lava lamp?” the girl exclaimed. 

_ Probably not. _

“Maybe! Let’s look,” Hyungwon replied, because he didn’t want to crush the spirit of this poor child set on having a goddamn lava lamp. 

He began counting the tickets, folding the strands to be counted in fives, and pretended not to notice when the boy moved some of the already counted tickets back into the pile of those yet to be counted. And did he  _ accidently _ jump forward a full hundred when he was counting? Maybe. Who’s to say?

“Nine hundred eighty-five, nine hundred ninety, nine hundred ninety-five… I think I could boost you up five tickets,” Hyungwon said, smiling at the kids. Their faces lit up with  excitement. “Let’s get you a lava lamp! Which color do you want?”

“The pink and purple one!” the girl shouted. The boy rolled his eyes, but he was smiling.  _ Cute. _

Hyungwon grabbed the box from the shelf, presenting it to the girl and, god damn it, her smile was  _ definitely _ worth faking over 200 tickets. 

“Thanks, mister!” the boy exclaimed before they both turned to run to their designated adult. 

“Hey, no running!” he shouted, because he had to at least  _ somewhat _ appear like he was doing his job right.

The next hour went pretty slowly, with a few guests coming to claim their prizes. Some were satisfied with candy and bracelets, while others were determined to rack up more tickets to get Nerf guns or light up yo-yos. Everything was going as he expected, so Hyungwon wasn't at all surprised when Minhyuk made his way over to the prize counter.

“Hey, Won! How goes it?”

_ Ah, yes. Two weeks of talking off and on  _ definitely _ warrants nicknames. _

“Hi,  _ Min _ . It goes. Heard you and Jooheon are dating.”

Hyungwon hadn't seen Minhyuk blush before now, but his ears rivaled Kihyun's hair in color.

“No, we're just going on dates,” Minhyuk replied awkwardly.

_ Oh, yeah. There's apparently a difference. _

“Right, my bad.” Hyungwon reached under the counter for the candy he knew Minhyuk would want for Jooheon. “So, what about Kihyun and Changkyun? Are they 'going on dates’ now?”

Minhyuk shook his head, laughing, as he reached for the packaged square of peanut butter chocolatey goodness. “Definitely not. They haven't said a single word to each other face to face. They text all the time and Kihyun grins at his phone like an idiot, but it never actually goes anywhere.”

“Changkyun does the same shit. When you say something to Kihyun, does he hide his phone and change the subject?” Hyungwon reached under the glass for his own Reese's Peanut Butter Cup as he asked, because he couldn't resist the temptation (nor did he even try).

“ _ Please _ .” Minhyuk said in exasperation. “Kihyun ignores me for at  _ least _ a solid 10 minutes before he starts up the next conversation.” He tapped at the glass, asking for Hyungwon to grab him a Reese’s for him, too. 

Hyungwon would have normally made him ask for it a little more, but the worker saw Changkyun enter the building to start his shift and would need Minhyuk to help with the plan that he may or may not have created on the spot. Because, one, he wanted Changkyun to at  _ least _ get to the point where he was “going on dates” with the guy he'd clearly been crushing on since day one. And, two, it gave Hyungwon a chance to smoke the blunt that he had thankfully decided to grab last minute.

So, like the candy bandit he had become, Hyungwon reached under the glass and into the bin. He moved his pointer and middle finger in two quick movements, gesturing for Minhyuk to lean in closer.

“Alright, Minhyuk, I have a plan. This is how this is gonna go.” Minhyuk perked up in interest and leaned in closer as Hyungwon continued. “Changkyun just got to work. I'll be able to take my break soon, and I'll...go to my car for a bit,” he said winking. “If you bring me some pizza when I get back and hold Kihyun's 7-Up hostage while you're here with me, do you think he'd come over here?”

“Definitely.” Minhyuk said with a nod. “Kihyun likes routines so, if it's broken, he'll want to know why. He'll start looking for me.”

“Great. I'll text Soonyoung,” Hyungwon said, pulling out his phone. 

“You know his number?”

“I know everything.” Hyungwon ignored Minhyuk's baffled expression as he texted Soonyoung to come to Tokens. “Okay, just watch for me to come back in after my break, then follow my lead. Changkyun's coming.”

Hyungwon stood back upright and threw a casual wave at the new employee as he came closer.

“Hey, Newb-kyun. Welcome to hell.”

Changkyun laughed and countered with his usual response. “Just another day in paradise.”

Minhyuk shook his head and turned back to the main floor, carelessly tossing his candy wrapper in Hyungwon's general direction. “See ya later, Won!” he called over his shoulder. 

“Bye, Min.”

Once Minhyuk was out of earshot, Changkyun started snickering. “I didn't take you as one for nicknames,  _ Won _ .”

“Shut up and fold those tickets,” Hyungwon said grumpily.

Changkyun just shook his head with a snicker and reached for a pile of tickets that had accumulated behind the counter. Hyungwon didn't care enough to keep the tickets he counted folded neatly. He had a habit of haphazardly tossing them to the ground when he turned to get prizes, leaving them for someone (Changkyun) to take care of them for him.

Hyungwon walked over to the small supply closet and took out the glass cleaner and washcloth to wipe the glass and at least appear relatively productive until his break. He fiercely scrubbed the cloth over a particularly stubborn piece of, what was that,  _ gum?  _ and stood up, satisfied, after a considerably large piece came free. 

He triumphantly tossed the washcloth onto the counter and turned to face Changkyun.The kid was just  _ grinning _ at his phone, thumbs tapping rapidly. Hyungwon snuck a glance to the DDR machine to find Kihyun smiling at his phone in the same damn way, and maybe he felt his heart do a  _ thing _ where it warmed the entirety of his chest cavity and he wanted nothing more than for the two of them to simply  _ talk _ like he could tell they both so obviously wanted to. They were cute, but this was painful.

He pulled out his own phone, checking the time, as well as the message from Soonyoung, confirming he’d stop by. 

_ Time to light it up. _

“Alright, bud, I’m gonna go on my break.” Hyungwon suppressed a grin as Changkyun fumbled and nearly dropped his phone after having been caught texting, reminding Hyungwon of a child getting caught spoiling his dinner, hand reaching into a cookie jar. “You good to hold down the fort?”

“I dunno, it’s pretty busy. I’m not sure if I can handle everything.”

Hyungwon just smirked and grabbed a handful of M&M packets to take to his car. This was one of the slowest Saturdays they’d had in a while.

“Be back soon,” Hyungwon called, hopping over the counter, because he didn't care to bother with walking around. “I have faith in your abilities to deal with the masses.”

“Hurry back, I'm swamped!”

Hyungwon did  _ not _ hurry, nor would he have if there were a legitimate crowd. 

In his car, “Santeria” switched to “Scar Tissue” and he took a deep inhale from his blunt. He nodded to the sound of the guitar as he let the smoke spill from his lips, and grabbed for another couple of M&Ms, which were promptly deposited into his mouth. He could feel the hard candy melt away, broken down by his saliva as he ran his tongue over the surface of the candy shell. He savored the chocolate, closing his eyes in bliss as the milky goodness spread. 

Hyungwon opened his eyes again as he swallowed, deciding that he really ought not stay in his car forever. He put out his blunt and left the roach in the ashtray, then placed it carefully under the seat on the passenger side.

He emerged from his car, feeling quite like one of the inflatable dancing people in front of car dealerships, limbs unfolding and stretching.   


“Hyungwon~,” sang a familiar voice, bright and cheerful.  _ But where is it coming from? _

Hyungwon blinked rapidly, looking up and down, then in front of himself as he tried to locate the source of the voice. 

“Hey, Hyungwon,” the voice said again, warmly. He looked ahead of him once more and jumped as pressure was suddenly applied to his shoulder. A hand. Belonging to….

“Soonyoung!” Hyungwon exclaimed before breaking into a fit of giggles at his poor attempt to locate the no-longer-mystery voice. “Hey! Thanks for coming.”

Soonyoung’s deep purple hair shone brilliantly in the afternoon sunlight. His eyes were sparkling, his smile was so  _ full _ and genial, and his lips so pink and soft looking when they moved and  _ Oh, shit, he's saying something. _

Hyungwon's eyes flickered up to Soonyoung's, and he drawled out, “Wait, what did you say?”

He must have paused longer than he thought, if Soonyoung's widening smile and more prominent cheek bones were any indication. 

“Hyungwon,” he began gently, in a reassuring way that filled Hyungwon with warmth, “are you high?”

Hyungwon grinned and his lips felt elastic, as though they could continue expanding beyond his tingling cheeks. 

“I'm totally cooked, Soonyoung.”

Soonyoung laughed and took his hand, dragging him back inside to finish his shift as it blurred by.

His purple-headed companion delivered him behind the prize counter and snapped in front of his face, bringing Hyungwon to attention.

“Focus, Hyungwon. You had me come here for a mission. I'll come by your house later, okay?” His voice was strong, but softened as he promised to visit, and Hyungwon felt a gentle squeeze on his hand. He closed his eyes with a small smile. Soonyoung's grip was warm and comfortable, and Hyungwon's smile widened, making his cheeks feel like warm Laffy Taffy, stretching endlessly. The tingling sensation spread to his ears and made him  _ giggle _ just ever so  _ softly _ until a deep voice broke through to reach those tingling ears.

“Are you okay?”

Hyungwon slowly opened his eyes, eyelids fluttering, to find Changkyun standing in front of him with a look of concern mixed with amusement on his face. Soonyoung was gone.  _ When did he leave? _

“I've never seen you like this,” Changkyun continued.

“I'm doing perfectly fine,” Hyungwon said,  _ laughed _ really, bubbles rising through his chest. “I usually stay away from sativas.”

“I don't know what that means, but do you need some water or food or something?”

_Food._ _Wait...Minhyuk._

He ignored Changkyun (not intentionally, but can you blame the guy?) and looked out to the floor, scanning for his personal pizza delivery guy. Under the table Uber Eats on foot. He located Minhyuk, who was grabbing a box from Jooheon's hands and turning to come his way.

_ Yeah, _ Hyungwon thought,  _ I can consider Minhyuk a friend _ .

Minhyuk approached the counter, setting the box and drink tray on the counter.

“Jooheon said you like your pizza with extra cheese and a bunch of olives. Ah, and this is for you, too. Dr. Pepper.”

Hyungwon reached out to give Minhyuk’s upper arm a squeeze of approval. “If you weren't dating Jooheon, I'd ask you both out.” He picked up his first slice to take a bite and the warm, greasy dough was complete  _ bliss _ on his taste buds. He shook his head, humming, and looked to Minhyuk. “On second thought, maybe I'll still ask you both out. This pizza is amazing!”

“We're not dating,” Minhyuk protested, "we're going on dates.” 

_ This again? _

Minhyuk was smiling, though, hiding something. Hyungwon simply raised his eyebrow, questioning him, as he took another bite. A big one.

Minhyuk freed an olive from the pizza for himself and popped it into his mouth, grinning. “Actually, we have another a date tomorrow. We have our movie date tonight and now laser tag tomorrow! You should come and we can get a group of us!

“Text me that, I won't remember,” Hyungwon replied, then shoved the entire pizza crust in his mouth because he had no fear. He tried chewing it all and, okay, maybe now he had a  _ little _ fear, but Dr. Pepper cured him and he went for another slice. He went at the same pace and became consumed with the melted cheese and bitterness of the olives, because the combination of flavors tasted so damn  _ good _ .

“I thought you were getting my refill,” came a new voice. A snappy one. 

_ Ah, Kihyun.  _

“Hey, Kiki!” Minhyuk said brightly. Hyungwon didn't miss how Minhyuk stepped between Kihyun and the drink, though. Surprisingly. “Won had a busy lunch break, so I got him some pizza.” 

Hyungwon gave Kihyun a little wave as he struggled to maintain a steady chewing pace and not completely choke on what had become a wad of dough. He turned to Changkyun as Minhyuk and Kihyun continued their conversation - something about combos on a high level song - and saw the poor kid standing like a statue, frozen except for his blinking eyes, taking in the bright haired dancing king before him. 

Hyungwon swallowed and cleared his throat, effectively breaking Changkyun from his trance. The young worker visibly took a deep breath and gained a bit more color to his face, and confidence, too. 

“I see you sneakily hiding his sacred 7-Up,” Changkyun said, reaching behind Minhyuk to retrieve the precious paper cup. But before he gave it to Kihyun, Changkyun's lips wrapped around the straw as he took a sip for himself. If Hyungwon hadn't just swallowed his pizza, he would have choked at the bold move. He wasn't sure what came over Changkyun, after previously looking like he'd seen a ghost, but Hyungwon was already enjoying this. 

Kihyun's face was priceless, eyes wide and jaw dropped incredulously, but his lips twisted into a smile when Changkyun offered him the cup. Seeing his plan begin to work, Hyungwon returned his focus to his pizza. And, oh my  _ god _ , this dough was both crispy and soft and the cheese was chewy, and it was almost  _ disgusting _ how greasy it was, but Hyungwon was so  _ content _ with these triangles of cardiac arrest that he didn't give a single fuck. 

Hyungwon looked up to the others again. Kihyun was listing off a handful of songs that Hyungwon recognized from his conversations with Soonyoung, with Changkyun encouraging him and Minhyuk watching it play out, while sneaking glances at Jooheon every few seconds. It wasn't sneaky, really, with how frequently it happened, but it was cute that Minhyuk seemed to think so.

Kihyun moved to end the conversation and head back to his usual post, but stopped dead in his tracks.

“Soonyoung took over the mat,” he groaned, and Hyungwon grinned to himself. His plan was working out perfectly, and he got to ride it out while high and with a box of pizza. Kihyun came back to their circle, minorly agitated, and Hyungwon counted it as a victory. 

Minhyuk laughed and playfully hit Kihyun's arm, teasing him for having lost his territory to another competitor. When Minhyuk snuck another glance at Jooheon, an idea sparked in Hyungwon's mind.

“Aye, Minhyuk,” Hyungwon called, “didn't you say something about laser tag?” 

It clicked for Minhyuk, too, and Hyungwon let him take over.

“Yeah! You guys should come and play with us. Jooheon and I have a date, but it would be better with teams.”

Hyungwon caught only pieces of the conversation that played out afterwards. His attention latched onto the Dig Dug theme song, coming from the machine just across the way from him, which provided an excellent background to the animated discussion before him. 

Hyungwon bopped his head from side to side to the quick beeping of the song, enjoying how the notes went up as Minhyuk wrapped his arm around Kihyun's shoulder, smiling at him, begging him to join them. The flute became more prominent as Changkyun spoke, smiling and scratching the back of his head, nervous, but excited. The beat quickened for a while (the kid playing must’ve begun running out of time) and it reflected what was probably going on inside the chests of Kihyun and Changkyun as they seemed to finally agree to the laser tag invitation. As Minhyuk beamed, the game chimed victoriously.

\--

Soonyoung came by Hyungwon’s place after his shift, and as they sat close on the couch,  _ 50 First Dates  _ playing in the background, Hyungwon breathed in Soonyoung’s scent. He had obviously showered before coming over and Hyungwon felt content,  _ comfortable _ , with the mix of vanilla and brown sugar that was so entirely  _ Soonyoung _ that it made Hyungwon’s heart jump. 

Hyungwon’s phone dinged, snapping him back to attention. Minhyuk’s movie date with Jooheon had ended, and he was reminding Hyungwon of laser tag. He turned his phone to vibrate and put it beside him on the cushion.

“So, what’s the deal with dating?” Hyungwon asked vaguely.

Soongyoung turned to face him, blinking and pausing before asking, “What?”

“I just,” Hyungwon started with a sigh, “don’t understand the difference between ‘dating’ and ‘going on dates’ and I’m not entirely convinced that there is one. You’re either dating or your not. Why the in-between?”

Soonyoung smiled and tilted his head thoughtfully. “I’m not sure there  _ is _ a difference. Or, there doesn’t have to be, at least.”

Hyungwon’s phone vibrated against his thigh, giving him an idea.

“Soonyoung,” he said seriously. He raised an eyebrow at Hyungwon, encouraging him to continue. “Some guys I know from the arcade are kind of doing a double date tomorrow playing laser tag. They invited me, and I’d like you to come. Want to?”

“You didn’t smoke again when you got home, did you?”

“No,” Hyungwon replied, laughing.

“So, are you asking me on a date?”

Hyungwon raised an eyebrow at him, and his lips pulled into a smirk

Soonyoung lauhged in return, understanding Hyungwon’s expression.

“Hyungwon, do you want to date me?”

Hyungwon laughed too and smugly said, “I thought you’d never ask.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So uhhh
> 
> I didn't expect for Hoshi x Hyungwon to become a thing, but here we are XD
> 
> Special thanks to my friends Tasha and Veronica for being my betas/editors this chapter<3
> 
> Also~ I'm not at all cool, but if you think maybe I might be, then please come yell at me on twitter. I'm not-so-shockingly @yookihyunieX there, too! :)


	4. Wakanda Warrior

They’d already been on a handful of dates at this point, and it really shouldn’t have been _this_ big of a deal, but it _was_ , and Jooheon’s heart was already _pounding_. He wasn’t even with Minhyuk yet (or the other guys...but, Minhyuk was obviously the most important of them all).

He was wearing his favorite pair of black jeans. Tight, but not _too_ tight, so he could still maneuver and crouch playing laser tag, yet still snug on his butt and thighs because Minhyuk had made a comment about Chadwick Boseman’s thighs at the movie last night and maybe Jooheon was testing a theory. And although he felt confident in the theory, it didn’t mean he felt confident in himself, which is why he had a pile of shirts on his bed high enough to rival Mt. Everest, yet he still felt like he had nothing to wear.

He was wearing a black shirt, but maybe black on black was too much? Just to be safe, he changed into a white t-shirt. He could wear it with a nice jacket to look casual and (hopefully) still sexy. Minhyuk would be there to pick him up at any minute, so he turned to grab his phone and, as he did, two deep bell tones rang through his house, signaling Minhyuk’s arrival. 

Jooheon more or less _fell_ down the entire staircase, because he wasn’t going to keep Minhyuk waiting any longer than necessary, but he did at least comb through his hair with his fingers just a bit before he opened the door because first impressions mattered. Okay, so maybe they’d technically _seen_ each other every weekend for the last couple of months, but it was his first impression _today_ so it still mattered.

“Hey, Jooheon! You look great,” Minhyuk exclaimed, beaming.

_Oh, thank god._

“Thanks,” Jooheon replied, smiling. “So do you.”

Because he did. His hair was this perfect mix of wavy and straight, parted so his golden blonde hair was truly shining in the sunlight, and his smile was just as bright. He was wearing a black t-shirt and slightly faded blue jeans and the simplicity of his outfit was actually _stunning_ and he wished he would have been able to come up with more words than “so do you” to compliment him, but at this point, it was a bit late. They’d been standing there for, well, Jooheon wasn’t really sure how long, just smiling at each other when their reverie was interrupted by a blare of a car horn.

“We should probably go,” Minhyuk laughed. “Kihyun isn’t very patient.”

Jooheon looked to Minhyuk’s car in his driveway to see a disgruntled Kihyun clambering into the back seat after having apparently crawled to the front with the sole purpose of honking at them. Kihyun was an interesting and incredibly intimidating guy to Jooheon. He couldn’t remember having any face-to-face interactions with Kihyun, and Jooheon got the impression he was like one of those untouchable mystical beings that had the potential of cursing you if you looked at him the wrong way. But still, Changkyun talked about him fondly during the shifts they had together, and Kihyun had pretty obviously given up shotgun so Jooheon could sit up front with Minhyuk as he drove, so Jooheon figured he just might make it through this Kihyun interaction without being turned to stone.

Jooheon had hardly opened the door to sit down when Kihyun spoke up.

“Bold outfit choice.”

Jooheon tried to remain calm as he took his seat and cleared his throat so his voice wouldn’t crack, god _forbid._

“What do you mean?”

“You’re wearing white and we’re playing laser tag in an arena with a bunch of blacklights. You’re gonna shine brighter than a lighthouse in there. No way in hell I’m being on your team.”

Jooheon felt every bit of blood drain from his face as he opened his mouth in shock over his own stupidity at having forgotten his jacket, and he hadn’t for a minute considered how vulnerable that might make him for the game.

“Shut up, Kihyun, he looks great,” Minhyuk said, starting the car, completely unaware (hopefully) of how quickly Jooheon’s blood returned to his face as he flushed madly at the compliment. 

“I’m still not going to be on his team,” Kihyun protested. “I have a game to win.”

Minhyuk shook his head laughing, shifting his gear from reverse to drive.

“We’ve been trying to figure out teams,” he explained. “Kihyun and I are pretty competitive, and we’ve known each other way too long for us to be on the same team and still be fair for you guys.”

Jooheon thought back to the conspicuous text he’d received from Hyungwon that morning, telling him to choose his team wisely and that he and Minhyuk were on a mission, whatever the hell that meant. The damn guy was so cryptic, he left Jooheon in a constant state of confusion. Minhyuk, though, was someone he was beginning to understand, so he’d try to follow his lead.

“What did you have in mind for teams?” Jooheon asked.

“Well, Kihyun doesn’t want to be on a team with Soonyoung.”

Kihyun snorted from the back. “Saying ‘I don’t wanna’ is putting it a bit lightly. I’m refusing it outright. His scores on DDR have been the bane of my existence since the history of forever. I’m not being on his team.”

“I dunno, Kihyun,” Minhyuk sang, “this could be a huge bonding opportunity for you two. A nice ‘sworn enemies turned best friends, character-redemptive story arc’.” 

“I’m not playing a cute game of laser tag for character building, Minhyuk. I’m playing to fucking win.”

Although there was obvious annoyance in Kihyun’s voice, Jooheon caught on to the teasing tone hidden under what he said, and became comfortable observing the dynamic of their friendship.

“Alright, so since Kihyun is refusing to play nice with Soonyoung,” Minhyuk began, snickering, “what do you think we should do, Jooheon? We could play in teams of our dates, two-on-two-on-two.”

Jooheon wasn’t going to say no to that, partially because he wanted to agree to everything Minhyuk said, and partially because there was a hidden mission Minhyuk seemed to know about and Jooheon didn’t want to interfere.

“Yeah, we can do teams of two,” Jooheon agreed. “I think we'd be a good team, Minhyuk.”

“I think so too,” he said, turning to grin at him, and Jooheon’s heart definitely skipped a beat.

“Works for me,” Kihyun said casually from the back. “Changkyun seems like a good partner.”

At the word “partner”, Minhyuk turned his face slightly to wink at Jooheon, which is when the “secret mission” finally clicked. Jooheon turned to face the boy with the bright red hair in the back.

“Kihyun, is this your first date with him?”

Kihyun had a weird expression on his face, like he was trying to keep his features slack but failing, with a light pink just barely dusting his cheeks, and a slight tug at the corners of his mouth.

“We’ve been talking but it's our first date, yeah,” Kihyun confessed.

“I think that's why Kiki’s _especially_ competitive today. Gotta show his man-to-be he's the best of the best. Natural selection is coming for the rest of our asses.”

Kihyun rolled his eyes so hard Jooheon swore he could _hear it_ , but he laughed along with his date anyway. 

“I think it's _you_ coming for Jooheon's ass,” Kihyun grumbled, and now it was Jooheon's turn to blush.

“Aaaand we're here!” Minhyuk exclaimed, completely ignoring his friend’s comment. It was probably for the best, because Jooheon didn't want his face to get even redder. He could feel how clammy his hands had become and wiped them on his jeans as Minhyuk parked. 

He didn't think they'd hold hands for an event like this, but he had to be ready just in case. Minhyuk had been pretty quick to reach for his hand at _Black Panther_ and how Jooheon survived it was a total mystery. He didn't know how he could like someone that _much_ after just two dates, but when he got home last night he giggled when he saw his own giddy expression in the mirror, and he just _kept_ giggling. 

And, maybe it wasn't _just_ the hand holding that did it. Maybe it was the way Minhyuk was so light-hearted and _fun_ and how his personality made Jooheon feel so _alive_. Maybe it was how he walked Jooheon up to the door when he dropped him off at his house, and how his face glowed from the streetlamp as they lingered on Jooheon's front porch. Maybe it was the way Minhyuk's smile was replaced with a serious expression - unsure, but intent - when he asked if they could kiss, and the way his smile returned when Jooheon said yes.

Jooheon felt that same giddy feeling bubble through him as he got out of the car, anticipating any potential kisses or hand-holding, or even just _smiles_ , because Minhyuk had the absolute best smiles that made Jooheon wonder how there was anything bad in the world. People could just look at Minhyuk’s smile and feel better again. It worked for Jooheon, at least.

They piled out of the car and into Tokens, and there was a feeling of both disconnect and liberation as Jooheon entered the arcade without having to work a shift. Hyungwon and Soonyoung were already at the set of tables near the entrance of the laser tag, which was definitely thanks to Soonyoung. Hyungwon was never early to anything and he always milked the three minutes of leniency they got to clock in for shifts. 

Soonyoung was talking animatedly to Hyungwon, who watched on with a small, pleased grin and bright eyes. It was a nice change - sweet, really - compared to Hyungwon’s usual I Crave A Swift Death expression he wore at work. When Jooheon and the others approached, Soonyoung cut his story short as he faced them, and Hyungwon’s smile faded, but he turned to them and waved.

“Hey, guys!” Soonyoung said cheerfully. “Ready for an invigorating game of laser tag?”

“I’m ready to kick your ass,” Kihyun muttered, not-so-under his breath. 

“We were thinking about our teams.” It was a nice attempt to cover Kihyun’s comment on Minhyuk’s part. Soonyoung had definitely still heard Kihyun, but didn’t seem at all phased by his remark.

“I claim Minhyuk!” Soonyoung shouted, surprising them all. 

“Wait, what?” Jooheon began to protest.

“Dibs on Changkyun. Hyungwon gets Jooheon,” Kihyun stated firmly. Then, turning to Jooheon apologetically, “Sorry, but I really can’t have a teammate with a glowing shirt. I play to win.”

“Speaking of Changkyun,” Hyungwon began, “where is he? I thought he’d come with yo-”

“Hey guys, sorry I’m late,” came Changkyun’s familiar voice. 

They turned to face their approaching friend and they tried to hold back their laughter. He was wearing a bright, highlighter yellow shirt, that would absofuckinglutely glow in the arena. Kihyun’s face sank as reality struck him instantly, and Jooheon could almost see the poor guy’s soul leave his body. 

“ _That’s_ the shirt you chose to wear for laser tag with blacklights? You work here, for christ’s sake.” Kihyun exasperatedly turned to Hyungwon. “Wanna be on my team?”

“No, no, no,” Minhyuk protested. “You called dibs. You and Changkyun are a team. I’ll be with Soonyoung and we’ll kick all your asses.”

“Wait...you called dibs on me?” Changkyun asked, a soft blush dusting his cheeks as he turned to Kihyun.

“I...yeah, I did,” Kihyun stammered.

Changkyun’s eyes lit up and he eagerly replied, “Don’t worry! I won’t let you down. My glowing shirt will be a handicap for the other teams. They’ll need it.” Jooheon was impressed with how confident Changkyun became in a matter of seconds. He could literally never.

“So that’s decided,” Hyungwon said matter-of-factly, coming to a stand for extra emphasis. “Let’s go in.”

Minhyuk shot Jooheon an apologetic look and grabbed for his hand, which honestly made the situation a lot better. Jooheon had been looking forward to being on Minhyuk’s team, strategizing like secret agents and peeking around corners, covering for each other. Or maybe hiding out in corners, crouching down together, thighs touching as their hearts raced, both from the anticipation of being hunted and from the close proximity. That fantasy was stripped away in an instant, but Jooheon wasn’t going to protest and be That Person who whined over being put on a different team. Instead, he’d make the best of being on Hyungwon’s team and do what he could to impress Minhyuk and not get his ass kicked.

They entered the room with the vests and geared up, fastening and pulling the straps to fit their bodies. Jooheon and Hyungwon claimed the ones with blue lights. Minhyuk came over blinking green and pulled one of Jooheon's side straps tighter, making him stumble forward into Minhyuk. Their faces were only inches apart, and Joohoeon’s chest was pounding like crazy, but he panicked like an idiot and crossed his arms in front of his chest, shouting, “Wakanda forever!”

Minhyuk flinched, lips quivering for a fraction of a moment as he struggled to keep his poker face, but he kept it successfully, thumped his crossed arms across his chest, and shouted, “Wakanda forever!” right back into Jooheon’s face.

They held themselves like that, arms crossed in front of their chest and serious expressions on their faces, until Soonyoung ran over to them. He jumped as he ran, landing firmly beside them with his arms crossing himself, nearly knocking the air out of his chest

“Wakanda forever!” Soonyoung yelled enthusiastically.

The three of them broke out in a fit of laughter, and there was something about Minhyuk’s laughter, ringing through the air, that made Jooheon feel like home. It was familiar, and held a warmth and sweetness to it, like a mug of hot chocolate after a day outside in the dead of winter. 

Kihyun, on the other hand, was clearly _not_ feeling like he’d sipped hot cocoa in a winter wonderland, with his wrinkled forehead of disapproval. He turned to Changkyun and Hyungwon, who were looking on with amusement, and began to say, “What a bunch of fuckin’ ner-”

“Wakanda forever!” Changkyun exclaimed, launching himself to their huddle, crossing his arms across his chest mid-flight. Jooheon looked past him to Kihyun, who was doing his damndest not to smile at Changkyun's outburst. Jooheon had already picked up on Kihyun's pattern: putting up a tough and surly exterior, but melting from within like a popsicle on a hot sidewalk whenever it had to do with Changkyun.

Hyungwon, unphased by the Black Panther-inspired players, walked over to the television in the corner and hit a few buttons. 

“I could give this presentation by heart,” he said. Jooheon and Changkyun could, too. They'd been recruited to manage the laser tag arena plenty of times. 

They all turned to the screen, listing the ever-exciting rules and expectations. Changkyun had freed his gun from the clip on his waist, and playfully poked at the targets on Kihyun's vest as they were announced. One on each shoulder, a strip on each side of their backs and chests, one in the center of their chests, and one at the end of their guns.

Hyungwon murmured along lackadaisically as the tape described the team bases, one per team hidden on the ceilings in the arena. They weren't exactly hidden for this group, who had probably walked through the hallways of the arena dozens of times, save for maybe Soonyoung. The bases, once struck, gave 10 points to the team that hit them, and were meant to be guarded, but were often abandoned in pursuit of other players. Jooheon would have to strategize with Hyungwon to determine their approach.

As the tape ended, they huddled into their respective pairs to plan their methods of attack and defense. 

“What should we do?” Jooheon asked his partner. “The others are going all in, so we might need to guard our base. The blue one has a pretty good spot to hide out.”

“Up in the nook with the window looking down, right?” Hyungwon asked, already nodding. “They might not know how to get there. We have the advantage working here longer and seeing the arena with the lights on. I can take that position.”

“Great,” Jooheon said affirmatively. “I'll go after them, if you can shoot from that post, too.”

They nodded decidedly at one another and unclipped their guns, preparing to enter the arena. The green and red teams appeared just as ready, and all six boys shuffled towards the entrance.

At the sound of the first buzzer, they spilled through the door into the dark room. Jooheon, as expected, glowed brightly from the blacklights. Thankfully, his vest covered parts of his shirt, and he moved quickly to increase the distance between himself and the other players. The beeping over the speaker system continued, steadily quickening as Jooheon moved up a ramp to the next level. His heartbeat was already accelerating, adrenaline rushing through him as he moved deeper into the arena, turning corners marked with glowing neon tape and spray paint.

Finally, a long buzzer rang and was replaced with music, signaling the start of game play. His gun made a surging sound and blinked blue, indicating its activation. 

_Game on._

Jooheon picked up his pace, remembering not to run, turning corners quickly to make his way to the green team’s base. 

A rapid laser sound suddenly came through the air near Jooheon, causing him to yelp and duck behind a stack of crates. He made it safely, but wondered if his assailant would follow him. He could only prepare to shoot back. 

He held his breath, listening for footsteps that might indicate the direction of the other player, but could really only hear his own heartbeat and the music overhead, straight out of an action movie. Soonyoung's head peeked around the corner and the laser sounds began firing from both parties. Jooheon was at a disadvantage. His entire body was exposed, all but his back targets open. He shot back anyway, closing an eye to focus his shots on Soonyoung's exposed shoulder target blinking bright green. 

Jooheon's position worked against him, though, and his vest vibrated after Soonyoung successfully hit his chest target. 

“Yes! Got you!” Soonyoung cheered. The green player turned away, on to his next target, giggling as he turned the corner. 

Jooheon stood from behind the crates and began putting some distance between him and Soonyoung, heading in the opposite direction from where he saw the other go. He supposed he could have pursued Soonyoung, attacking once his gun reactivated, but he assumed that Minhyuk must be defending their base, so to the base he went. 

Jooheon’s heart was pounding as he moved through the halls. He forgot how worked up he got with things like this. He hated scary movies, haunted houses, dark rooms...really anything that brought a jump factor. He wasn't sure why he agreed to this, of all dates, when he would be much happier licking an ice cream cone outside in the nice fall weather, free of dark rooms and the unknown hiding behind every corner. But he was kind of stuck at this point, wasn't he? So, he bit his lip to remain quiet and did his best to be the hunter, not the huntee.

His gun re-activated with a vibration, causing him to jump with a gasp, which was, thankfully, covered by the loud music. After the startle of the gun, Jooheon's adrenaline gave him determination to make a few solid shots. He wasn't nearly as competitive as the others seemed to be - minus Hyungwon, who was probably content just camping out in the lookout area - but he wouldn't be going down without a fight.

He approached a cut out window, overlooking the lower floor, and searched around him to guarantee he was free of any pursuers. Once he knew he was in the clear, he scanned the lower level, looking for any flashes of red or green. Jooheon was about ready to move on when Kihyun came into view. The redhead crouched behind a wall, gun held up and ready to shoot at whoever was approaching him. Kihyun's entire back was exposed, but Jooheon chose to wait for whoever Kihyun was preparing to attack. 

After only a beat, Minhyuk appeared. Jooheon took a breath and closed his left eye, aiming his gun to shoot at the two. He was successful in hitting Kihyun after his second attempt, and the redhead threw back his head in exasperation at having been shot. Minhyuk easily recognized that he hadn't been the cause of Kihyun's deactivation and began looking for the culprit. Kihyun scampered away while Minhyuk was distracted looking around corners of the lower level. He was at an angle nearly impossible to hit, so Jooheon waited for the best opportunity to shoot and not give away his own position.

Kihyun, though, soon returned with Changkyun, who was glowing like a highlighter in his bright yellow shirt. Minhyuk didn't notice their approach, though, as he had just spotted Jooheon's flashing blue gun, peeking out from the window. As Minhyuk took his aim towards Jooheon, Changkyun shot him in the back from less than a foot away. 

Minhyuk dramatically slumped to the ground as the red team shared a victorious high-five.

Jooheon watched as Kihyun and Changkyun moved towards the area with the blue base, hoping Hyungwon was ready to cover it. He didn't wait to see where Minhyuk headed, already knowing he'd be en route to the red base. Jooheon changed his course, taking the ramp back downstairs to find the bright red target. 

He reached it before Minhyuk and planted himself directly under the target. Any points against the red team would help them both. Jooheon swung his gun up to his face to take his aim, but as he did, it shuddered in his hands. He'd been shot. 

Minhyuk surfaced from behind a wall and confidently walked up to disarm the red base. He playfully blew at the end of his gun as if it were real, raising an eyebrow at Jooheon, who stared on, dumbfounded. 

“Truce?”

The words were out of Jooheon's mouth before he realized it.

“What do you mean 'truce’? I've got a game to win.” Minhyuk cockily propped his gun over his shoulder and, okay, his competitive side was pretty attractive. Jooheon blinked rapidly, taken aback by Minhyuk's image. He'd pushed his hair back and out of his face, and his head was tilted to the side. He smirked at Jooheon, who was struggling to find a proper response.

“We, uh, can team up. Go against the red team.”

Minhyuk squinted in speculation, but nodded.

“Okay, yeah. Truce. I want to kick Kiki’s ass. He and Changkyun are a pretty good team.”

Jooheon grinned. He and Minhyuk would get to play together after all. 

“Okay, let's find them. I saw the attack they did on you a bit ago. We can do that.”

Minhyuk smiled wickedly back. “Let's destroy 'em. Come on!”

Jooheon followed as Minhyuk moved through the labyrinth of black walls like it was second nature. He wondered just how often he and Kihyun and played laser tag. He knew exactly where he was going without hesitation. Jooheon felt like a true Wakanda warrior, stealthily moving through the arena and ready to attack.

When they reached what was apparently their hiding spot, Minhyuk signaled to him to remain quiet, placing a finger over his lips and pointing to a window. Jooheon's vest reactivated and he looked where Minhyuk had pointed. There was a flash of red, followed by green, and then another red. They were trapping Soonyoung.

Minhyuk took Jooheon's hand, pulling him around the corner and up a ramp to a better view point. As they reached their post, both boys lifted their guns to the window, shoulder to shoulder. They stood in silence, poised and ready to shoot. There was a moment where the arena seemed completely still - silent, even with the blaring music - as they waited for someone to appear. 

“There!” Minhyuk whispered. Kihyun appeared, Changkyun on his heels. “I've got Ki.”

Jooheon trained his gun on Changkyun's shoulder target and heard a solitary shot from Minhyuk, effectively disabling Kihyun's vest. Minhyuk's time spent on all those shooting games clearly had paid off, and _damn_ it was impressive. 

Jooheon managed to hit Changkyun's shoulder on his third attempt, just before Changkyun ducked out of view.

“Nice!” Minhyuk declared, beaming, turning to face him. Jooheon’s breath caught in his throat. Their faces were only inches apart. 

Even in the black lights, Jooheon saw how Minhyuk’s pupils widened, noticed how his eyes flickered down to Jooheon’s lips. Jooheon’s eyes moved to Minhyuk’s lips, too.

“Jooheon, um. Do you want to date me? And not just go on dates?”

Jooheon nodded quickly before he allowed any hesitation or self-doubt to kick in and deprive him of the absolute goddamn privilege to date Lee Minhyuk.

“Y-yeah,” he stammered. “I'd like that.”

“Me too,” Minhyuk replied with a small, breathy, satisfied chuckle. 

Jooheon saw how the corners of his lips curved into a small smile, relieved at hearing his answer. He saw how Minhyuk gently bit on a small corner of his bottom lip for just a fraction of a second before he moved his face closer to Jooheon’s. And that was all he saw, because he allowed his eyes to flutter closed as he moved his lips to meet Minhyuk’s.

Jooheon’s other senses kicked in as they kissed. He could smell Minhyuk’s smokey cologne, subtly covering the light scent of his sweat. He felt Minhyuk’s blocky laser gun press into his back as he pulled Jooheon closer. He felt Minhyuk’s warm fingers as his hand wrapped around Jooheon’s upper arm, gently squeezing, feeling. He heard his own heartbeat pounding up his chest and into his ears, and felt how it blended with Minhyuk’s, two steady beats thumping harmoniously and frantically. 

And his lips, oh his lips. Jooheon was sure these were the softest lips he’d ever encountered, and they fit together perfectly with his own, which was cliche, but it was _true_. They parted and Minhyuk lightly sucked on Jooheon’s bottom lip, teeth gently scraping at the skin. Jooheon deepened the kiss, tasting more of him and the bubblegum mint on his tongue. The taste was fresh and and sweet, and the combination of the kiss and Minhyuk's thumb lightly brushing on Jooheon's arm...it was electrifying.

He didn't pay attention to the beeping over the speakers, signaling the countdown to the end of their time. Jooheon had other things calling his attention, namely Minhyuk pushing him against the wall. Minhyuk freed his gun from behind Jooheon's back, and his lips connected with Jooheon's exposed neck.

Jooheon could have completely melted into the ground if his last shreds of self preservation hadn't kept him up. Minhyuk pressed into his shoulder, keeping him against the wall. He felt a nibble on his neck and a shudder run through him.

Minhyuk's lips released from his neck, but the shudder continued, and it took .04 seconds for Jooheon to realize that Minhyuk had shot his shoulder plate, deactivating his vest before the robotic voice announced “Game over” through the speaker system.

“Sorry, babe.” Minhyuk grinned at him stupidly and with a distinct lack of apologetic nature. 

“No you're not.”

“No, I'm not.”

_Knew it._

They exited the room, navigating the arena hand in hand and, even though the scoreboard revealed the blue team to have earned the fewest points, with Minhyuk's hand still in his own as his _boyfriend_ , Jooheon felt like he'd won after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be one more chapter! 
> 
> Talk to me on twitter, bubs, I don't bite :) @yookihyunnieX
> 
> Thanks for reading<3 I've loved reading your comments so far, thank you!!


	5. Twinkle Toes

Kihyun didn't know how long he'd been at the arcade, nor did he care. He had perfected avoiding overthinking, allowing himself to fully immerse into the game, zoning in and letting his feet mindlessly move between the arrows. It was all muscle memory at this point.

After the first few notes of a stage came through, his body reacted and his feet started moving. He didn't notice how he leaned further back into the hand rail as the songs progressed, didn't see Minhyuk approach him with his 7-Up refill, and barely registered the small child next to him, playfully moving her feet between the arrows as if she was nailing every step. Really, it was pure luck if she got a Good and those gave zero points, anyway. It wouldn't make up for the negative points of the dozens of Almost and Miss scores. Kihyun would’ve rolled his eyes if it wasn't going to mess with his own stage.

He finished Dead End with a rank of AA, as expected, and stepped to the edge of the mat, reaching for his cup.

“Not your best, dude.”

“I can't get AAA every time, Minhyuk,” he said, letting his eyes roll like he'd wanted to before. “Plus, I'm a little distracted.”

He angled his head, pointing to the girl as he sipped the sweet lemon-lime carbonated drink, blaming her for his score of 94%. She was still jumping around on the mat, pretending that she was the expert of all rhythm games. It was cute, but incredibly distracting. And yet, when Kihyun pulled his eyes back up to meet Minhyuk’s, he knew his friend didn't buy his excuse.

You see, while Kihyun was an expert at zoning in and robotically stepping to the music, he was also an expert at overthinking outside of the game, and  _ Minhyuk _ was an expert at seeing right through Kihyun.

“Just a little bit?” Minhyuk smirked.

Kihyun shoved his drink into his friend’s face to wipe his expression away.

“We're  _ not _ talking about it,” he groaned.

Minhyuk reached for the cup and took a long sip, biting the straw into a slit.  _ Heathen. _

“Alright, my guy, but you're  _ especially _ up tight right now, even for you.”

“It was just a long week,” Kihyun said with a shrug. It was another lie, a small one, and Minhyuk caught it, but knew him well enough to not press it twice.

“Well, it's the weekend now, so dance it out and we can talk later if you want, yeah?”

Kihyun frowned as he watched Minhyuk deposit his cup on the ground. He wouldn't want to talk about it. It wasn't his style and they both knew that very well, but he still replied, “Yeah,” for Minhyuk’s sake.

His friend turned to return to the shooting games and Kihyun began selecting his first stage, pressing the buttons mindlessly.

So, okay, Kihyun was more than a little distracted and it was more than just a long week. Midterms had passed and all of his professors inconveniently scheduled the next unit exams and projects for the same week.

He had a group project with the worst possible partners, including two people who had apparently gone through a rocky break up the week prior and they refused to speak to each other. For one of his papers, he had a vague prompt with no rubric. That kind of open-endedness was great for some students, but not for perfectionists like Kihyun. He needed to know his professor's specific expectations if he was to maintain any kind of calmness, which he  _ wasn't. _ He had to prepare a speech for one of his classes, and had exams coming up in the other three.

Kihyun had sat through tortuous meetings with his group for the project, with death glares between the exes and a distinct lack of coffee in Kihyun's system to deal with it. He'd made color-coded note cards and practiced mnemonic devices, pulled a first draft for his essay out of his ass for in-class editing, and stayed up the night prior to finish an outline for his speech.

On top of everything, he had to fill in for a handful of Shownu’s shifts at the library and he didn't really have the time for it, but he wasn't about to admit that. So, he took the shifts, despite being knee deep in assignments.

And then there was Changkyun.

There were texts of lame puns, snapchats with dorky filters, and cringy memes. Kihyun almost hated how much he loved it.  _ Almost _ .

Changkyun had made Kihyun's week from hell bearable, making him smile and laugh like it was any other week. Maybe even better. Kihyun had a designated tone just for texts from Changkyun, and when he heard it, he dropped everything to check his phone. Normally, Kihyun kept his phone on silent when he studied. He didn't want anyone or anything to bother him. Except for Changkyun; he was different.

Changkyun was the reason Kihyun continued staring at a bright screen each night, even after he shut down his laptop. He stayed up into ungodly hours of the morning, waiting to see if Changkyun might send him just  _ one more text _ .

He was the reason that Kihyun had gaps in his classroom notes because, for some unknown reason, Changkyun kept sending him cute dogs picture or selfies on the fourteenth minute of every hour, with no regard for Kihyun's class schedule. Kihyun normally kept his phone tucked in his backpack, but after he realized Changkyun’s texting routine he began placing his phone in his lap. Kihyun would watch the clock in each classroom like his life depended on it, anticipating a text, wondering what the picture would be. It made him smile regardless, but the selfies made Kihyun’s gut flip like a fairy was using his stomach as a bounce house.

Changkyun was an entirely new experience for Kihyun. All of his confidence vanished. It wasn't just out the window, either. It had completely disappeared, packed up and left to start a family of its own or something, leaving Kihyun to be a ball of anxiety and butterflies.

It didn't exactly help, either, that Minhyuk had been flaunting his own relationship in Kihyun's face, intentionally or not. (Kihyun assumed it was a combination of the two, because nothing Minhyuk did was ever purely unintentional.) And, okay, Minhyuk and Jooheon were cute. Adorable, actually.

They called each other every night and talked for hours. They were in the honeymoon phase all couples go through, of course, and it was disgustingly sweet. Once, Kihyun overheard Minhyuk say “I uwu you” on the phone to Jooheon. Kihyun was more than sure that wasn't an  _ actual _ sentence, but it apparently made sense to Jooheon because, at the end of the next night's call between the couple, Kihyun heard Minhyuk say “I uwu you, too” back to him.  _ Whatever that means. _

Minhyuk’s uwu-filled relationship only reminded Kihyun that he wasn't actually in a relationship at all, with or without uwus. Whenever Kihyun thought about asking Changkyun to date him, his mind and heart raced faster than they ever had playing DDR.

He knew that the swiftest way to handle his stress would be to just  _ ask Changkyun out _ . Kihyun had already run through the potential outcomes: best case scenario, they'd end up together; worst case scenario, Changkyun would say he wanted nothing to do with him, and Kihyun would promptly pack all his things and move across the country, erasing his identity and memory from Changkyun’s mind. The latter wasn't as likely, but Kihyun had already looked up some potential schools in case he needed to transfer. Now, he just needed to build up the courage to ask.

Kihyun blinked as Maxx Unlimited ended, realizing that there were no more arrows with which to sync his steps. He hadn't even realized he was in the final stage. Kihyun knew he had a tendency to zone out as he played, but he needed to pull himself out of his own head, at least a little bit.

He stepped off the platform and speedily pushed through the prompts to choose his first stage. Tsugaru seemed like a good enough option. As he selected the song, someone called out for the girl beside him, telling her it was time to go home. He gave her a small smile and wave before she ran off to join her family.

Kihyun bent down, snatched his drink, and sipped through the now-bent straw (thanks to Minhyuk). Someone took the place of the girl, as indicated by the sounds of buttons being pressed for player difficulty. Kihyun closed his eyes briefly, drinking more 7-Up, and hoping that it wasn't Soonyoung. He didn't want to think about yet another happy, new relationship.

“Mind if I join you?”

Kihyun had to keep himself from choking on his drink at the sound of Changkyun's voice. He successfully swallowed without choking, but it was a close call. When he turned back to face the platform, Changkyun was smiling innocently back at him, as if he hadn't just given Kihyun a heart attack.

“Uh, sure. You can,” Kihyun said, trying to recover. He stepped back onto the mat and leaned back to hold onto the bar, doing his damndest to maintain a calm exterior.  It was only when Changkyun stepped forward to the machine that Kihyun realized he hadn't pressed “start” before getting settled.

_ Nice. _

The music began and Kihyun quickly darted his eyes to Changkyun’s side of the screen.

_ He chose Expert? There's no way he'll be able to keep up _ .

“Pretty bold, going on Expert,” Kihyun grinned, turning to face him. Changkyun remained silent, but wore a grin of his own. A confident one.

Kihyun turned back to face the screen as the arrows began rising to the Step Zone. His weight shifted back onto the bar and he let his feet follow the beats, muscle memory kicking in. He was nailing it, with Marvelous scores and the start of a combo already. The patterns were easy enough to recognize for anyone who'd played a handful of rhythm games and got used to their feel. It was strategic.

His eyes flickered to Changkyun’s half of the screen. He was in the middle of a combo of his own, with Great and Perfect scores -- even a few Marvelous scores!

_ This can't just be beginner’s luck. There's no way. _

Kihyun jumped to land on both side arrows and hold. Changkyun hit them both, too, and his combo was only a few numbers behind Kihyun's. He was doing incredibly well. On Expert.

_ He  _ has _ to play. _

As the song continued, Changkyun maintained his combo during the steps that required jumps from the top and right arrows to the bottom and left ones. He got tripped up on a quick step before a holded note and lost his combo, but he didn't let it mess up his rhythm. He got back on track and started a new combo right away.

Kihyun snapped his eyes back to his own half of the screen, focusing on his scores. He listened to the backing beat, feet rapidly moving from arrow to arrow. Kihyun ended the stage with a grade of AAA, which was surprising, considering how much he'd been looking at Changkyun’s scores. More surprisingly, though, was that Changkyun got an A grade.

He'd never mentioned playing DDR to Kihyun before, and there were countless opportunities for it.

_ Why wouldn't he tell me? _

He turned to face Changkyun, eyebrow raised in speculation.

“You play DDR?”

“I’m playing right now,” Changkyun smugly replied.  _ Not what I  _ meant. “Can I pick the next stage?”

Kihyun only managed to give a quick nod. He leaned back, holding onto the bar again, and watched curiously as Changkyun moved through the songs. He made his selection and hit start, leaving them both on Expert.

_ He chose Sakura on Expert? Does he know how hard that one is? _

Changkyun’s determined expression, tongue peeking out at the corner of his lips, told Kihyun that he did, in fact, know how hard it was. Changkyun gripped the bar behind him and visibly shifted his weight into his arms so he stood on his tip toes. It was an interesting stance.

As the stage began, Kihyun watched for Changkyun's play style. He was leaning back and had kept the tempo like technical players, but moved rhythmically. It was a unique mix of the two main playing forms like nothing Kihyun had ever seen. His feet flitted between the arrows on the mat, but he added extra steps on the center metal plate. His body shimmied, making up his own dance as he went. It was weird, but it was fuckin’ cute.

He used the entire mat as the stage continued, dancing on the metal plates and arrows, toes tapping. When the stage ended, Kihyun blinked up at the stage, astonished.

_ He beat me? How could he possibly… _

“Are you some kind of hustler? You've never said anything about playing. And what was that style?”

Changkyun laughed warmly. “Are you mad I beat you at your own game?”

“No.”

_ Maybe a little. _

_ “ _ I think you might be,” he teased, wiggling his eyebrows.  _ Okay, yes. _ “Don't worry, though. I'm not that good. That's just one of my favorite songs, so I play it a lot.”

Kihyun squinted at him. He was hiding something.

“Kihyun, why do you play DDR?”

“What?” That was an odd question.

“Why do you play? Do you have fun?”

Kihyun hesitated.

“Uh, well,” he began, “I play because I'm good and I get high scores.”

“But do you have fun?”

Kihyun paused again. It was something he'd never thought about.

“I do,” Changkyun interrupted. “I like the songs and I fill in steps to dance through the stage.”

Kihyun couldn't help but smile back at him; it was a cute and genuine sentiment, and Changkyun wore a bright smile of his own.

“Will you try something with me?” Changkyun asked.

“Like what?”

“It'll be fun, don't worry. I guarantee it.”

How could Kihyun turn that down, with Changkyun’s bright and hopeful eyes looking right into his?

“Okay, yeah,” Kihyun nodded. “What is it?”

“We're gonna play Double together.”

Double was a form of play where both mats were used in the same scoring system. It was a special setting, selected prior to the first stage. Sometimes two players did it together if they'd practiced and were especially in sync. Usually, though, one player took on both mats.

“Double? Now? We're two stages in.”

“Let's try it, anyway! We don't need the special setting. You know these songs by heart, right? You know all the steps?”

Kihyun was skeptical, but felt his smile widen.

“Yeah, pretty much.

“Not pretty much,” Changkyun protested. “You do. I've seen you play. Come on, we'll do it our own way! We'll select Expert for both mats, right? You can take the top and right arrows for both, and I'll cover back and left. It'll be fun!”

_ This isn't going to end well _ .

“Let's do it!” Kihyun agreed.

“Yes!” Changkyun exclaimed, turning to the machine. “I'm pretty good at this one. Get up to the front, okay?”

Kihyun took his place at the front of the platform as Changkyun selected ORION.78. His heart was beating quickly, but is wasn't from his usual anxiety. It was from giddiness.

Changkyun looked over his shoulder back at him, grinning. “Ready?”

“Yeah, Twinkle Toes, I'm ready.”

Changkyun took his place behind him to cover his designated arrows. The music began and the arrows sped up the screen to Step Zone. They began moving their feet, jumping from one mat to the next, attempting to hit as many arrows as possible.

Kihyun’s movements were frantic. His muscle memory was programmed for single play, not double. The patterns were different, and he couldn't lean back on the bar to support his weight. He stepped on Changkyun's feet repeatedly, and the Dance Guage of their points drained on both halves of the screen faster than Kihyun thought possible. They failed immediately.

Kihyun froze in place. “I've never failed a stage before.”

“Kihyun,” Changkyun spoke hesitatingly from behind him, “I'm sorry, I-”

Laughter built up from within him, bubbling to the surface. Kihyun turned around to face Changkyun, laughing like a nut.

“That was the most fun I’ve ever had playing that damn game,” Kihyun confessed between laughs.

A look of relief washed over Changkyun's face, and he grinned back at Kihyun. “Was it really?”

“Yeah,” Kihyun affirmed, shaking his head at himself. “Can you believe that?”

“I can, actually,” Changkyun admitted. “I've seen you play. You don't smile much. You look better this way.”

_ Oh. _

“What?”

Changkun blinked and stammered. “You, um -- you look better when you smile.”

“Do I?” Kihyun asked, grinning, taking a step closer to him.

_ Where is this confidence coming from? I was a nervous wreck, maybe 20 minutes ago. _

“You do,” Changkyun said, mirroring him by taking a step forward.

Kihyun stepped forward again and settled his hands on Changkyun's hips. And he kissed him.

He hadn't planned on kissing Changkyun. Not like this, anyway. He wanted it to be intimate, at least the first time. Kihyun thought they'd be in a relationship first, and maybe on a date getting dinner, or at a movie, instead of when they were kind of sweaty and in the middle of a smelly arcade with kids running around. He wasn't big on public displays of affection, either. It had always made him uncomfortable letting everyone see his business.

But his hands were on Changkyun’s hips, and his lips were smiling into the kiss, because Changkyun told him he looked better when smiling, after all. And there was something about this kiss -- this person -- that was entirely comfortable and intimate.

He'd made Kihyun laugh more purely than he had in,  _ god _ , forever? Kihyun had stayed up until hours of the morning, missed the first few minutes of some morning classes, and gotten distracted from taking notes -- things Kihyun would never do -- for him. For Changkyun.

So for them to be sharing this moment, in this place and in this way, wasn't surprising to Kihyun at all. He'd made Kihyun do things he'd never do before, in the smallest of ways, and it felt completely natural.

_ I'm so whipped for him and we're not even dating yet. _

They both pulled away from the kiss, still smiling at each other, and Kihyun registered how entirely captivated he was by the other.

“That went better than expected,” Changkyun chuckled.

“It went horribly,” Kihyun laughed. “We failed at record speed.”

“Hey, that's still a new record!”

Kihyun rolled his eyes, still smiling.

_ He's not wrong. _

“That's not what I meant, though. I don't really play DDR,” Changkyun confessed. “I started learning maybe a month or so ago. Minhyuk’s been teaching me.”

“Minhyuk?” Kihyun turned to the shooting games, scanned the area to find his friend, and located him by Ghost Squad Evolution wearing a knowing smirk.

_ How long had he been watching them? Creep. _

_ “ _ Yeah,” Changkyun said, directing Kihyun's attention to him, settling his hands on Kihyun's hips. “I saw how often you play, and I wanted to impress you.”

“It worked,” Kihyun admitted, forgiving Minhyuk for hiding the DDR lessons for Changkyun’s sake.

“It was fun learning,” he said, beaming. “I watched you play a lot. Soonyoung, too. I've spent weeks and weeks learning how to play, and how to get good.”

“I haven't seen your initials on the score board, though. You seem pretty decent.”

“I couldn't ruin the big reveal, now could I?” Changkyun teased. “I’ve been putting Soonyoung’s initials.”

“So you've been fraternizing with the enemy.”

“I don't think 'enemy’ is the right word. He's been rooting for us like the others.” Changkyun made a nod in the general direction of the pizza and prize counters and Kihyun understood that he was the last to know of everyone in their quasi friend group. “My boss even let me work out my schedule so I could keep my practices with Minhyuk.”

“Your  _ boss _ knew?”

“Unimportant! But, remember how I asked you why you play DDR?”

Kihyun nodded slowly.

“I play for you.”

_ That's the cutest shit, oh my god. _

Kihyun kissed him again, holding him tenderly on the hips, pulling him gently closer. The world around them vanished. The mixed songs of video games and the shouts of children blended together to make a unified hum, and Kihyun and Changkyun were separate from it all.

All of the stress Kihyun had about saying or doing something wrong to Changkyun disappeared, and a feeling of tranquility replaced it. He was kissing his crush, who made him smile in ways no one ever had, and who'd spent hours learning DDR, just for the sake of impressing him. Nothing could ruin this moment.

“Are you gonna play or not?”

_ Except for that _ .

Kihyun broke the kiss and turned to confront the culprit, frowning.

“Really, Hyungwon?”

The tall worker shrugged, but there was an apologetic tone when he spoke. “Sorry, I know this is an important time for you two, but I have a job to do, and I had some kids come to me, whining about two guys making out at the DDR machine.”

Behind him, Changkyun had picked up Kihyun's cup before joining them.

“Sorry, man,” Changkyun apologized. “We'll go make out at another game.”

Kihyun couldn't help but smirk.

“So, what? Are you guys actually dating now?”

When Changkyun answered, he wasn't looking at Hyungwon. He turned to Kihyun -- who looked back at him -- and nodded.

“Yeah,” he said firmly. “We are.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a fun adventure :)  
> I only semi-knew where I was going with this when I began, but I think I'm proud of how it turned out?
> 
> Thanks so much for sticking with me!
> 
> I'm also feeling sentimental because this is my first planned chaptered fic I'm posting, and I have a lot of really great people who let me ramble and brainstorm with them <3
> 
> So thanks @ Veronica, Erika, Ren, Casey, Sae, Erin, Alice, Jo, Tasha, Barb, Danie, and Jae <3 some of the things I asked or said may have seemed really small, but they were incredibly helpful to me ^^ you're all the best~
> 
> As always, thanks for reading <3


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